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THE  CITY  AND  COUNTY 


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CONTAINING    USEFUL   AND    RELIABLE   INFORMATION    CONCERNING 


THE  FUTURE  GREAT  METROPOLIS  OF  THE  SOUTHWEST. 


ITS  RESOURCES  AND  ADVANTAGES 


AGRICULTURIST,  ARTISAN  AND  CAPITALIST. 


1  SSd. 

TIMES    PUBLISHING    CO., 

EL   PASO,  TEXAS. 


Preface. 


The  little  work  which  we  here  offer  has  been  prepared  in  more  of  a 
hurry  than  we  could  obviate,  as  our  time  and  business  engagements 
while  occupied  upon  it  did  not  permit  of  that  application  to  it  of 
attention  and  labor  which  a  due  performance  of  the  undertaking 
really  demanded.  Nevertheless,  we  send  it  forth  as  it  is,  with  tlie 
assurance  that  we  have  set  forth  with  equal  lidelity  the  advantages 
__j  and  disadvantages  of  our  county  and  locality;  and  we  stand  ready 
c»to  verify  them. 

„      No  organized  effort  of  the  kind  lias  heretofore  been  attempted; 
^this  fact,  among  others,  suggested  to  us  the  a<lvantages  we  might 
QD  reasonably  exi^ect  from  such  organized  and  well  directed  effort,  fur- 
nishing reliable    and    authentic    information,   by  an    authoritative 
^  source.    But  far  above  any  other  motive,  we  are  actuateil  by  a  desire 
^  to  labor  in  the  task  of  elevating  El  Paso  County,  and  the  large  area 
of  country  that  must  be  dependent  upon  ami  tributary  to  it  (which 
therefore  must  enrich  it),  to  that  high  position  in  the  world  of  wealth 
and  business  to  which  her  natural   resources  and  her  natural  advan- 
tages certainly  give  her  a  commanding  claim. 

The  population  of  El  Paso  County  hitherto  has  not,  unfortunately, 
been  of  the  progressive  kind.  The  Spanish  or  Mexican  Indian  race — 
of  whom,  until  the  advent  of  the  railways,  four  years  ago,  about 
ninety-nine  hundredths  of  the  population  was  composed,  and  of 
which  one-half  of  it  is  still  composed — has  caused  the  country  to 
progress  scarcely  a  move  in  the  great  march  of  material  wcaltli  and 
improvement,  beyond  what  it  was  in  the  days  of  the  Spanish  vice- 
royalty  in  Mexico,  to  which  it  was  once  subject.  Up  to  that  time 
(1881)  this  was  practically  a  "  terra  incognita." 


4  Preface. 

Snrcly  it  is  time  now  tliat  one  of  tlic  oldoKt,  most  attractive,  and 
best  counties  in  the  great  State  of  Texas,  and  yet  tlie  least  known 
until  the  epoch  of  the  railroads,  should  enter  the  lists  for  the  cham- 
pionship of  them  all. 

Like  the  sleeping  giant,  El  Paso  County  and  the  great  country  she 
represents  (for  reasons  which  we  will  hereafter  demonstrate),  has 
been  reposing  in  the  consciousness  of  her  strength  and  j)Ower,  to 
arise  when  the  time  should  come,  by  the  very  force  of  her  inherent 
strength,  and  to  assume  among  the  great  natural  and  political  divis- 
ions of  her  own  State,  and  of  the  busy  world,  the  position  and  rank 
to  which  the  laws  of  Nature  and  Nature's  God  entitle  lier. 


El  Paso,  Texas. 


INTRODUCTORY. 

This  pamphlet  is  issued  by  the  El  Paso  Bureau  of 
Information,  an  organization  composed  of  many  of  the 
principal  citizens  of  El  Paso  County,  Texas.  Its  objects 
and  purposes  are :  To  diffuse  and  impart,  by  ^mblication, 
correspondence,  and  otherwise  as  may  seem  best,  useful, 
clear  and  reliable  information  concerning  our  county,  its 
resources,  attractions,  advantages  and  capabilities,  with 
a  view  to  encourage  and  promote  immigration  ;  to  as.<;ist 
in  finding  homes  for  the  immigrant;  to  attract  cajjital 
by  the  suggestion  of  advantages;  to  induce  its  invest- 
ment; and  to  do  all  things  within  its  i)ower  and  i»urpose 
to  secure  and  achieve  the  objects  for  wliicli  it  was  organ- 
ized. We  trust,  therefore,  that  all  i)ersons  into  whoife 
hands  this  pamphlet  may  fall  will  peruse  carefully  its 
contents,  and  then  place  it  in  the  liaiids  ol'  i»tliers,  to 
whom  it  may  not  only  be  of  interest,  but  j)rovi'  a  bless- 
ing; and  at  the  same  time  forward  to  the  Bun'au  here 
the  names  of  acquaintances  who  would  be  likely  to  b»> 
interested  in  it. 

(6) 


6  El  Faso,   Texan. 

The  following  named  i)ersons  compose   the  "Central 
Committee  "  of  the  organization : 


OFFICERS. 

President,, Hon.  T.  A.  Falvey, 

Jst  Vice-President,      .    .    .  S.  H.  Buchanan,  . 

£d  Vice-President,    .     .     .  S.  AV.  Boring,      .     . 

Treasurer, First  Nat.  Bank, 


District  Judge. 

.    .       Builder. 
.  City  Marshal. 

.     ."     El  Paso. 


MEMBERS. 


J.  F.  Sattertiiwaitk, 
J.  P.  Hague, 
James  Makr, 
W.  M.  Davis,      . 

H.  M.  MUNDY, 

Joseph  f^ciiUTZ,  . 
C.  E.  Moorman,     . 
F.  C.  Gay, 
J.  C.  Beatty, 

R.  C.  LiGHTBODY, 

W.  B.  McLachlin, 
A.  Krakauer,    . 
R.  F.  Campbell, 
E.  C.  Roberts,   . 
John  Julian, 
J.  A.  McKinney', 
H.  S.  Kaufman, 
H.  W.  Read,       . 
c.  r.  morehead, 
Henry  Beneke, 
Wm.  Watts,    . 
Benj.  Schuster, 
Chas.  Merrick, 
AV.  A.  Irvin, 
Dr.  RossER,     . 
Joseph  Gist, 
Chas.  T.  Race, 

E.  V.  Berrien,  . 
J.  R.  Currie, 
J.  G.  Brock, 
Joseph  Magoffin, 
H.  L.  Detwiler, 

F.  N.  HOLBROOK, 

J.  H.  Bate, 


Mg 


Capitalist. 

.    Attorney-at-Law. 

El  Paso  Transfer  Co. 

Hardware  Merchant. 

Dealer  in  Land  and  Live  Stock. 

.    Wholesale  Dry  Goods. 

Attorney-at-Law. 

AgentA.,  T.  &S.  F.  R'y. 

Mex.  &  Tex.  Land  &  Cattle  Co. 

Clothing  &  Furnishing  Goods. 

Real  Estate  &  Insurance. 

Gen'l  Merchant. 

Druggist. 

Merchant. 

Merchant. 

Physician. 

.  Cashier  First  Nat.  Bank. 

Baptist  Minister  and  Evangelist. 

.      Pres't  State  Nat.  Bank. 

Hardware  Merchant. 

El  Paso  AVater  AA'orks. 

Gen'l  Merchant. 

Clothing  &  Furnishing. 

Drugs  tt  Chemicals. 

.    Physician. 

Real  Estate  Dealer. 

.     Physician. 

Furniture. 

.    Capitalist. 

Real  Estate  &  Live  Stock. 

Collector  of  Customs. 

Contractor. 

Mining  Engineer. 

.      "  Dailv  Times." 


City  of  El  Paso. 


SIGNIFICANCE  OF  THE  NAME  "EL  PASO." 

Two  Spanish  words,  meaning  "  The  Pass."  It  will  be 
necessary  for  the  reader  to  bear  this  in  mind,  as  he  will 
see,  not  only  by  reading  this  l)ook,  but  by  a  glance  at 
any  map,  old  or  new,  how  appropriately  the  name  has 
been  applied.  How  unerringly  has  the  linger  of  destiny 
pointed  toward  this  place  —  this  "Pass"  through  the 
mountains  —  this  great  natural  highway  from  North  to 
South,  from  East  to  West — this  great  geographical  and 
commercial  center ! 


CITY  OF  EL  PASO. 

This  city  is  no  doubt  destined  to  become  the  great 
commercial  and  political  metropolis  of  this  vast  region. 
Nature  has  given  her  the  position,  and  the  laws  of  trade, 
like  those  of  nature,  will  always  assert  themselves.  Our 
position  relatively,  and  very  signilicantly,  is  about  ei^ui- 
distant  from  the  great  cities  of  Mexico,  San  Francisco, 
St.  Louis,  New  Orleans,  Kansas  City,  and  Galveston — 
about  eleven  hundred  miles  from  each ;  too  far  to  come 
into  competition  or  rivalry  with  any  of  them,  and  having 
direct  and  comj^etitive  railroad  communication  with  all 
of  them.  And  all  of  them  are  now  conii)eling  for  our 
trade,  and  for  the  trade  of  Mexico  through  us.  This  is 
in  many  respects,  perhaps,  the  most  important  and  brill- 
iant commercial  prospect  we  have ;  and  the  ri<h  trallic 
that  it  promises,  and  results  that  must  follow,  cannot  be 
over  estimated.  The  commerce  of  Chihuahua,  Diiraiigo, 
Zacatecas,  and  other  Mexican  States,  which  are  cut 
off  from  the  ocean  by  high  mountain  barriers,  is  now 


8  El  Paso,  Texas. 

passing  through  this  city  in  a  steady  stream.  One  com- 
mission house  liere  paid  duties,  witliin  the  Last  year, 
on  goods  and  mercliandise  consigned  to  Mexico,  of 
$307,000,  and  this  represents  about  one-sixth  of  the 
total  amount  of  duties  paid  at  this  point  on  goods  des- 
tined for  Mexico  during  the  same  period.  The  vast 
extent  of  territory  tributary  to  this  city,  and  her  exact 
position  in  tlie  pathway  of  the  immense  trade  that  will, 
in  the  course  of  time,  be  carried  on  between  the  two 
Republics  and  with  the  States  of  Central  and  South 
America,  by  means  of  railroad  systems  now  in  opera- 
tion or  projected,  and  with  the  West  India  Islands. 
China,  and  Japan,  by  means  of  her  railroads  to  the  Pa- 
cific, give  her  commercial  future  a  magnitude  the  mind 
can  scarcely  grasp.  In  point  of  destiny,  we  believe  that 
El  Paso  is  entitled  to  rank  with  any  of  the  great  cities 
we  have  named,  and  that,  before  she  is  as  old  as  Kansas 
City  or  Denver  now  are,  she  will  have  outstripped  either 
of  them.  This  is  no  visionary  view.  We  are  better 
entitled  to  say  this  now,  we  have  more  in  sight,  more 
ground  for  our  belief,  than  the  wildest  enthusiast  could 
have  claimed  for  either  of  those  cities  ten  years  ago. 
With  improved  means  of  intercourse,  and  better  com- 
mercial treaties  with  these  States  and  countries  just 
mentioned,  a  commerce  of  enormous  value  will  be  main- 
tained with  the  United  States,  much  of  which  must  pass 
through  li^re.  A  fact  that  will  seem  incredible  to  many, 
as  it  has  no  doubt  escaped  general  observation,  is,  that 
the  Mexican  Central  Railway,  in  its  1,225  miles  between 
here  and  the  City  of  Mexico,  passes  through  twenty-one 
cities  (including  the  two  termini)  having  a  population  of 
950,000.  And,  as  we  have  already  shown,  Ave  are  in  the 
centre  of  a  great  district,  including  Western  Texas, 
Southern  New  Mexico,  and  Eastern  Arizona,  the  trade  of 
which  we  shall  undoubtedly  command ;  the  importance 
of  which  is,  of  itself,  sufficient  to  build  up  a  great  city. 


City  of  El  Paso.  9 

In  addition  to  the  live  railroads  already  terniiiiatin<,^ 
here,  we  liave  the  prospect  of  others.  The  first  is  that 
to  the  White  Oalvs  coal  fields.  This  road  will  not  oidy 
bring  us  cheap  coal  in  abundance  (when  reduction 
works,  glass  works,  and  many  other  nuinufacturing  en- 
terprises will  soon  follow),  but  it  will  bring  the  ores 
from  the  many  mines  discovered  near  its  route,  and  the 
lumber  and  timber  from  the  great  White  Mountain  dis- 
trict ;  it  will  also  be  extended  so  as  to  connect  with  the 
St.  Louis  &  San  Francisco  Railroad,  which,  when  cniii- 
pleted,  will  give  a  line  from  El  Paso  to  St.  Louis  two 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  shorter  than  by  any  other  route. 

We  can  confidently  ask,  Is  there,  or  has  there  bfcu, 
such  a  prospect  in  view  for  any  town  '\n  the  riiiffd 
States  ? 

Thus  much  for  our  prosjjects ;  now  as  to  tlit>  city 
itself. 

A  little  more  than  four  years  ago  there  were  less  than 
200  persons  here,  all  told;  no  railroads,  no  modern  im- 
provements, nothing  but  a  few  old  adobe  structures  ;  and 
the  town  was  almost  unworthy  of  a  name.  To-day  we 
have  five  railroads — the  prospect  Just  spoken  of  fr)r  the 
completi(jn  of  others — and  we  have  a  poj)ulation  of  at 
least  5,500  as  wideawake  and  intelligent  jteople  as  can 
anywhere  be  found.  The  old  adobe  buildings  are  fast 
giving  way  to  business  blocks  as  substantial  and  elegant 
as  can  be  found  in  Texas ;  while  of  residence  property 
there  has  been  erected,  on  all  sides  of  the  business 
center,  properties  which  liave  transformed  an  oi)en  com- 
mon into  a  beautiful  city  of  comfortable  and  elegant 
homes.  Of  churches  there  are  substantial  structures 
owned  by  the  Episcopal,  Methodist,  Baptist,  Presbyte- 
rian, and  Catholic  societies.  Wo  have  two  well-e(]uip]ied 
planing  mills,  three  brickyards  which  carry  from  one 
and  a  half  to  two  and  a  half  millions  of  brick  in  stock, 
of  good  (Quality,  and   in   color  from  a  deej»  red  to  a  Mil- 


10  El  Paso,   Texas. 

waukee  straw  color.  Our  lumber  yards  are  supplied 
from  Eastern  Texas,  Arkansas,  Louisiana,  New  Mexico, 
California,  and  Nevada.  Lumber  is  worth  from  $25  to 
$40  per  M,  according  to  class.  Brick  are  worth  $10  per 
M,  laid  in  the  wall.  It  is  estimated  that  more  than  400 
permanent  structures  have  been  erected  within  the  past 
two  years,  and  the  builders  and  contractors  were  never 
more  active  than  now ;  in  fact,  there  is  not  an  idle  car- 
penter or  bricklayer  in  town,  and  more  are  needed. 
Business  of  all  kinds  is  and  has  been  uniformly  good. 
The  depression  felt  elsewhere  so  sharply  has  not  affected 
this  place  to  any  noticeable  extent ;  and  we  claim,  con- 
fidently, that  there  is  a  combination  of  causes,  which 
can  be  discovered  by  the  reader  from  a  careful  perusal 
of  this  pamphlet,  that  will  always  operate  in  favor  of 
this  place,  and  prevent  any  serious  business  depression, 
or  any  corresponding  to  that  which  it  is  possible  to  feel 
elsewhere. 

We  have  an  excellent  system  of  water  works,  with  a 
pressure  of  200  pounds,  giving  us  not  only  plenty  of 
good  water  for  all  domestic  and  manufacturing  purposes, 
but  enabling  us  to  have  the  best  protection  against  fire ; 
and  this  has  induced  the  organization  of  a  very  full  and 
efficient  "Fire  Department,"  which  is  now  one  of  the 
institutions  of  the  city  and  a  credit  to  it.  We  also  have 
gas  works,  and  gas  of  an  excellent  quality  sold  at  82.20 
per  thousand  feet ;  also  electric  light  works,  of  the  most 
approved  pattern,  furnishing  an  excellent  light ;  the  tel- 
egraph, of  course,  and  the  telephone ;  two  first-class 
National  Banks ;  two  miles  and  a  half  of  first-class 
street  railway;  sampling  works,  ice  factory;  opera 
house,  theatre,  custom  house  ;  one  daily  and  three  week- 
ly newspapers ;  two  very  fine  hotels  of  the  first  class, 
one  of  which  cost  $100,000,  and  several  others  of  the 
second  class;  a  court  house  that  cost  $110,000,  and  jail 
costing  $35,000 ;  a  Live  Stock  Association,  Union  Stock 


city  of  FA  Paso.  11 

Yards,  and  a  Building  Association  wliirh  lias  erected  ho 
houses,  costing  from  $1 ,000  to  $3,500  each  ;  a  Transfer 
Company  using  75  animals,  and  splendidly  e(piij)ped  in 
every  particular  (this  company  alone  paid  freights  on 
goods  and  merchandise  hauled  by  them  last  year  of 
$275,000),  and  a  second  of  nearly  equal  capacity.  This 
represents  nearly  every  element  of  progress. 

The  city  is  very  eligibly  and  handsomely  sitnat«'d,  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  Rio  Grande,  and  the  site  is  every- 
thing that  could  be  desired  for  a  great  ci(y,  combiiiing 
the  needs  and  beauties  of  such  a  situation  in  a  high 
degree,  as  to  elevation,  drainage,  scenery,  fine  sites  for 
residence  and  business,  and  general  Ix-auty,  and,  in  fact, 
grandeur  of  its  scenery  and  surroundings,  which  far 
surpass  anything  of  the  kind  we  have  ever  seen  in  tlie 
Eastern  States.  One  must  come  West  to  behold  such 
scenery  and  such  locations  for  cities,  and  there  they  can 
only  be  found  near  or  in  the  Rocky  Mountains.  There 
are  some  drives  liere — one  in  particular,  just  back  of  the 
city,  that  can  scarcely  be  excelled  (on  account  of  its 
great  elevation,  for  the  view  and  line  air  that  it  alfords.) 
by  any  other  drive  on  the  continent  so  near  to  a  city. 
Only  a  mile  away  is  Fort  l^liss,  the  military  ]»osi  to 
which  allusion  has  already  been  made,  atiording  anotlici" 
delightful  drive  over  the  hills  and  u]t  the  river.  But  the 
most  interesting  drive  of  all  to  the  stranger  is  across 
the  riv^er,  through  the  old  Mexican  town  of  Paso  del 
Norte,  which  was  founded  by  the  Jesuits  in  1(520.  Ev- 
erything there  will  be  found  of  interest  to  the  stranger — 
the  houses,  the  streets,  the  people,  the  old  church  (built 
more  than  2.")0  years  ago),  the  system  of  irrigati(»u.  Tlie 
habits,  customs,  and  life  of  this  primitive  people  are  in- 
describable, as  a  whole,  but  very  interesting;  and  their 
country  is  beautiful,  rich,  and  susce])tible  of  the  highest 
degree  of  improvement  and  cultivation.     These  people 


12  AV  Pii.so,   Texas. 

are  our  neighbors  and  IVitMids,  and  our  intercourse  witli 
them  is  both  pleasant  and  profitable. 

Our  city  is  free  from  debt,  liavMng  on  hand  $3,000; 
rate  of  taxation  is  25  cents  on  $100  for  general  pur- 
poses, and  50  cents  for  school  purposes.  Under  the 
present  charter,  the  city  cannot  incur  a  debt  of  more 
than  '$20,000.  The  total  amount  of  taxes,  State,  county, 
and  city,  is  about  $1.75  to  the  $100. 

There  are  good  openings  here  now  for  a  dairy,  a  wine 
manufactory,  a  fruit-canning  and  beef-canning  establish- 
ment, a  poultry  farm,  a  glass  factory,  smelting  and  re- 
duction works,  a  soap  and  candle  factory,  an  apiary,  a 
distillery  and  brewery,  cracker  factor}^,  foundry  and 
machine  shop,  and  many  other  enterprises  too  numerous 
to  mention ;  and  above  all,  there  are  openings  here  for 
10,000  families  of  industrious  people,  and  millions  of 
capital  can  find  profitable  employmeuf. 


TEXAS  — HISTORICAL   SKETCH. 

Texas  government  underwent  many  and  rapid  changes 
before  its  territory  became  a  part  of  this  stable  country. 
Up  to  the  year  1821,  Texas  was  a  part  of  Mexico,  under 
the  dominion  of  Spanish  viceroys.  In  that  year  Mexico 
renounced  her  allegiance  to  Spain,  and  established  a 
regency.  After  one  year's  trial  the  regency  was  changed 
to  an  imperial  government.  Then  the  emperor  was  de- 
posed and,  in  1823,  a  republican  form  of  government 
was  instituted.  This  only  lasted  one  year,  when  it  was 
changed  for  a  federal  s^^stem,  modeled  after  that  of  the 
United  States.  This  lasted  ten  years,  and  in  1833  Santa 
Anna  established  a  military  despotism.  After  three 
years  of  turbulence  and  bloodshed,  in  which  the  Texans 


El  Paso   County — Historical  Sketch.  13 

fought  iiiuler  the  Federal  llag  of  Mexico,  Texas  declared 
her  independence,  and  in  1836  becanu;  an  independent 
Rej^ublic,  and  in  1845  was  voluntarily  annexed  to  tlie 
United  States.  Her  population  at  that  time  could  not 
have  exceeded  150,000.  By  the  treaty  of  annexation 
Texas  retained  all  her  public  donuiin.  She  sold  that 
which  now  constitutes  a  part  of  New  Mexico  to  the 
United  States,  for  $10,000,000.  With  this  she  paid  her 
debt  of  $5,000,000,  constructed  her  capital,  deaf  and 
dumb,  blind,  and  lunatic  asylums,  and  eiulowed  her 
public  schools  with  the  remainder.  Tiie  history  of 
Texas  since  then  has  been  one  of  grand  achievement  in 
all  tilings,  and  in  all  respects  worthy  of  her  heroic 
struggle  for  life,  and  of  her  eventful  birth.  Heretofore, 
the  part  which  El  Paso  County  has  performed  in  all 
these  grand  achievements  has  of  necessity  been  a  very 
humble  one.  Up  to  1881,  her  position  was  so  remote 
and  isolated  that  she  could  scarcely  be  said  to  be  a 
spectator,  for  she  did  not  see,  or  scarcely  know,  what 
was  going  on  in  the  great  world  around  her.  But  now 
all  this  is  changed,  as  we  will  proceed  to  show;  and 
Texas  will  hereafter  be  known  as  much  by  our  achieve- 
ments as  by  her  own. 


EL  PASO   (BOUNTY  — HISTORICAL   SKKTCII. 

COVEHING  AN  lOPOCir  FROM  18r27  TO  1880,  WITH  Pin.NCIPAL 
TOl'OOItAlMIICAL    FIO.XTITIIKS,    ETC. 

The  County  of  El  Paso,  Texas,  is  sitnated  in  the  ex- 
treme western  part  of  the  State,  bounded  on  the  north 
by  New  Mexico,  on  tlu;  west  by  the  State  of  Cliihuahua. 
Mexico,  the  Rio  Grande  ("great  river")  constituting  tlie 


14  El  Po.so,   T('xaf<. 

boundary.  It  lies  between  lon/^itude  270°  and  290°  west 
from  Greenwich,  and  between  latitude  31°  and  32°  north, 
the  latitude  beinf^  the  same  as  that  of  Savannah,  Ga., 
and  San  Diego,  Cal.  It  has  a  frontage  on  the  Rio 
Grande  of  147  miles,  with  a  supeHicial  area  of  7,000 
square  miles,  or  4,480,000  acres — twice  as  large  as  Dela- 
ware, as  large  as  Connecticut,  and  six  times  as  large  as 
Rhode  Island.  Its  surface  is  diversified  Avitli  mountains, 
valleys,  and  plains,  sufficient  of  each  to  give  variety  to 
the  grasses,  soil  and  climate,  and  picturesqueness  to  the 
scenery. 

That  portion  lying  along  the  river,  and  constituting 
the  valley  proper,  is  an  alluvial  deposit  of  as  rich  and 
productive  soil  as  can  anywhere  be  found.  It  varies  in 
width  from  one  to  six  miles,  and,  while  in  many  places 
there  are  quite  heavy  growths  of  timber,  there  is  every- 
where sufficient  for  all  pui-poses  of  the  farm  and  home. 
The  valley  is  said  to  have  been  settled  by  the  Jesuits  in 
1620,  since  which  time  portions  of  it  have  been  under 
successful  cultivation.  The  climate  is  dry,  healthy,  and 
delightful,  the  rainfall  averaging  from  12  to  18  inches, 
and  the  thermometer  rarely  indicating  above  100°;  while 
the  winters  are  mild,  the  mercury  rarely  falling  "below 
-f  20°,  the  ground  is  never  frozen,  and  the  snowfall,  under 
all  circumstances  extremely  light,  never  lingers  upon 
the  warm,  unfrozen  earth. 

The  county  now  contains  a  population  of  about  12.000, 
distributed  as  follows :  The  city  of  El  Paso,  the  county 
seat,  5,500 ;  Ysleta,  formerly  the  county  seat,  2,000 ;  So- 
corro, about  1,200;  San  Elzario,  2,000 ;  Fort  Bliss,  300; 
Concordia,  300  ;  Camp  Rice,  200  ;  balance  of  the  county, 
about  500.  All  of  the  above  named  places,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  El  Paso,  were  colonized  upon  Spanish  grants 
ceded  to  the  inhabitants  in  the  seventeenth  century ; 
the  Ysleta  (or  little  island)  colony  having  a  grant  of 


El  Paso  County — Historical  SlutrJi.  15 

9,000  acres,  the  Socorro  colony  of  12,000  acrns.  and  the 
San  Elzario  colony  of  about  40,000  acres. 

In  1827,  Don  Juan  Maria  Ponce  de  Leon.  :iu  inhabitant 
of  Paso  del  Norte  (the  Mexican  town  just  a<'r()ss  the 
river),  made  an  application  to  his  governnn'iit  for  a  grant 
of  the  land  on  which  El  Paso,  Texas,  is  now  situat«'<l 
(this  was  then  Mexican  territory).  Tlie  apj)lication  (»f 
Leon  was  granted,  and  thus  was  the  tirst  settlement  of 
El  Paso  begun.  Farms,  vineyards,  and  orchards  were 
soon  established,  and  but  little  of  note  occurred  to  dis- 
turb the  tranquillity  of  the  peaceful  inhabitants  of  tliis 
delightful  valley,  except  the  occasional  raids  of  Indians 
for  the  purpose  of  robbery,  until  the  war  with  Mexico 
was  declared  by  the  Ujiited  States,  when  this  phice  was 
at  once  found  to  possess  great  military  and  strategic 
importance,  on  account  of  its  remarkable  geographical 
location  and  the  physical  peculiarities  of  the  surface  of 
the  surrounding  country;  showing  tiius  early  wliat  it  has 
since  proven  in  so  many  ways,  a  veritable  gateway  iiii<' 
Mexico.  Brig.-Gren.  Sterling  Price,  in  liis  memorabh* 
march  across  the  plains  with  his  regiment  in  1S47,  ac- 
companied by  the  "Missouri  Horse,"  under  Col.  Halls, 
entered  Mexico  at  this  point;  so  did  also  the  coninumd 
of  Col.  Doniphan.  During  our  civil  war,  it  was  alter- 
nately occupied  by  large  commands  of  Confederate  and 
Federal  troops,  and  was  made  a  dej)()t  of  supply  and 
base  of  operations  by  the  Confederates  against  New- 
Mexico  and  Arizona,  while  it  was  again  held  hy  the  Fed- 
erals as  a  key  to  the  control  of  those  territories.  l)iii  iiii: 
much  of  this  period  it  was  occujiied  as  a  home  station 
and  terminus  of  the  eastern  and  western  divisions  of 
the  great  overland  mail  and  stage  system  then  in  opera- 
tion; thus  again  early  sliowing  that  its  geograjihical 
position  was  commanding  and  imporUmt. 

These  facts  did  not  escape  the  keen  observation  of 
many  of  the  old  soldiers  who  had  hern  locateil,  or  who 


16  El  Paso,  Texas. 

liad  passed  tlirougli  here  diuiiig  tliose  periods,  and  many 
of  tliem  returned  to  avail  themselves  of  the  advantages 
of  trade,  soil,  climate,  and  the  general  easy  and  x)leasant 
conditions  under  wliich  life  and  comfort  may  be  main- 
tained here. 

The  military,  strategic,  and  geographical  importance 
of  this  point  was  also  soon  recognized  by  our  govern- 
ment, and  as  early  as  1858  a  permanent  and  important 
military  post  was  established,  and  has  ever  since  been 
maintained  here.  During  all  this  period,  too,  the  great 
natural  advantages  of  this  place,  geographically  and 
commercially,  were  further  strongly  indicated  by  the 
passage  of  tlie  great  trade  routes  from  the  north  into 
Mexico,  and  from  the  east  to  Arizona,  New  Mexico,  and 
California ;  the  mule,  ox  trains,  and  stage  coach  of  those 
days  moving,  of  necessity,  on  the  same  lines  of  commu- 
nication, and  governed  by  the  same  natural  law  of  trade. 
as  are  now  the  railroads  and  telegraph.  This  feature 
was  also  yet  further  illustrated  in  the  growth  and  devel- 
opment of  the  town  and  magniticent  valley  of  Paso 
del  Norte,  just  across  the  river  from  us,  where  it  is  said 
there  was  at  one  time  a  population  of  20,000.  It  was 
from  this  growth  and  development  that  the  possibilities 
and  richness  of  the  valley,  tlie  fertility  and  adaptability 
of  its  soil  and  climate  to  the  production  of  almost  every 
cereal,  fruit,  and  vegetable  that  is  necessary  to  the  com- 
fort and  gratification  of  man  or  beast,  and  the  salubrity 
and  healthfulness  of  the  climate,  were  first  practically 
revealed  to  Americans. 

During  the  greater  part  of  the  period  covered  by  this 
sketch,  from  1827  to  1880,  constituting  the  first  great 
epoch  in  the  history  of  this  county,  the  population  num- 
bered about  5,000,  nine-tenths  of  wliom  were  Mexicans, 
and  they  or  their  descendants  are  still  here  in  about  the 
same  number.  They  had  organized  a  county,  were  sup- 
plied with  such  schools  and  churches  as  satisfied  their 


El  Paso   County — Historical  Sketch.  17 

aspirations  (these  were  wholly  under  the  control  of  the 
Jesuit  missions),  and  were  in  all  respects  a  law-abidinff, 
hajipy,  and  contented  people;  all,  of  course,  citizens  of 
the  United  States,  having  acquired  that  dignity  wlit-n 
Texas  achieved  her  indt'pendence  from  Mexico,  after  her 
heroic  struggle  with  that  power  terminating  with  the 
glorious  victory  of  San  Jacinto,  and  became  a  State  of 
the  Union. 

In  1878  several  great  trunk  and  trans-continental  lines 
of  railroad  were  already  projected  from  and  upon  i)oint8 
and  along  lines  of  latitude  and  longitude  that  must  of 
necessity  carry  them  to  or  through  this  point  and  pass. 
They  now  vigorously  .  resumed  construction.  Though 
none  of  them  were  within  GOO  miles  of  here,  this 
active  resumption  6i  work  attracted  the  attention  of  a 
few  sagacious  Americans  who  came  here  during  the  next 
two  years,  to  perhaps  the  number  of  iifty,  to  await  events 
still  apparently  remote.  At  that  time /l 878)  there  were 
but  23  Americans  in  what  is  now  the  city  of  El  Paso, 
and  about  150  Mexicans.  A  small  garrison  of  soldiers 
was  quartered  in  the  town,  which  consisted  of  a  number 
of  old  adobe  houses  of  the  pure  Mexican  type.  So  non- 
descript, unique,  and  picturesque  were  these  structures, 
to  the  unaccustomed  eye,  that  any  effort  to  describe 
them  would,  we  fear,  fail  to  convey  a  correct  impression. 
The  metrojiolis  of  the  county  was  then  at  Ysleta,  thirteen 
miles  below  El  Paso,  on  the  river,  where  the  District 
Court  was  held  and  the  county  business  was  transacted, 
and  where  there  was  a  Mexican  population  of  about 
2,000.  During  the  years  1879  and  1880,  the  great  rail- 
roads approaching  here — the  Atchison,  Topeka  «S:  Santa 
Fe  from  the  north,  the  Southern  Pacilic  from  the  west, 
the  Texas  &  Pacific  and  tin'  Galveston,  Ilarrisburg  «S: 
San  Antonio  from  the  east — })ushed  their  work  of  c<in- 
struction  so  vigorously,  that  increased  attention  was  di- 
rected to  this  place ;  and  before  the  end  of  the  year  1880, 

2 


18  El  Paso,   Texas. 

tliougli  the  railroiids  were  still  more  than  100  miles  distant, 
the  first  sound  and  wave  of  tlie  coming  "boom"  liad  struck 
El  Paso,  and  aroused  the  sleepy  old  adobe  town  from  its 
fifty  years  of  lethargy.  The  soldiers  were  obliged  to 
give  up  their  quarters  to  the  citizens.  The  town  was 
evacuated,  in  the  military  sense,  and  turned  over  to  the 
mob  of  enterprising,  active  spirits  who  were  crowding  in 
from  every  direction.  All  sorts  of  new  enterprises,  suit- 
able to  the  demands  and  prospects,  were  inaugurated ; 
building  began,  town  lots  advanced ;  railroad  oflBcials, 
surveying  parties,  contractors  and  their  employes  be- 
gan to  make  their  appearance  upon  our  streets,  inspiring 
renewed  hope  and  confidence  in  our  future.  Then,  about 
the  beginning  of  1881,  began  the  most  marvelous  display 
of  energy  in  railroad  construction  that  has  perhaps  ever 
been  witnessed — the  grand  struggle  of  four  important 
trans-continental  lines  to  secure  advantages  of  location 
and  business  by  first  reaching  this  place.  All  of  these 
roads  have  direct  or  continuous  lines  of  more  than  1,000 
miles  to  El  Paso. 

First  to  arrive  on  this  busy  scene  (May  13,  1881)  was 
the  Southern  Pacific,  and  a  few  days  later  came  the 
Atchison  &  Topeka,  a  few  months  later  the  Texas  & 
Pacific,  and  a  few  months  later  still  the  Galveston,  Har- 
risburg  &  San  Antonio.  In  the  meantime  the  construc- 
tion of  the  Mexican  Central  southward  to  the  city  of 
Mexico  had  begun,  and  was  being  pushed  with  the  same 
energy  that  had  characterized  the  building  of  these 
roads,  all  of  which  are  now  completed,  and  are  parts  of 
great  competitive  systems,  connecting  us  with  the  world 
on  every  hand. 

To-day,  then,  we  have  five  railroads ;  a  city  of  5,500 
people,  with  all  the  elements  of  wealth,  progress,  pros- 
perity, and  happiness,  such  as  schools,  churches,  street 
railways,  water  works,  gas  works,  electric  light  works, 
banks,  building  associations,  a  Federal  court  and  cus- 


El  Paso   County — Historical  Shtch.  19 

torn  house,  telegraplis  and  tele})lione,  saiiiplin<^  works, 
transfer  company,  line  hotels  and  pul)lic  buiklings,  a 
public  park,  a  city  band  and  theater,  a  first-class  lire 
department,  line  residences  and  business  houses,  an  ex- 
cellent city  government ;  law,  order,  morality,  good  sf)- 
ciety ;  an  ice  factory,  union  stock  yards  ;  one  daily  and 
three  weekly  newspapers,  one  Live  Stock  and  Alining 
Journal ;  a  large  and  increasing  commercial  business 
with  Mexico  and  the  surrounding  country,  which  is  trib- 
utary to  El  Paso  for  a  radius  of  400  miles ;  the  county 
seat,  with  a  court  house  and  jail  that  will  meet  the  am- 
bitious demands  of  the  county  for  the  next  twenty  years, 
at  least. 

The  superior  and  jierhaps  unequaled  advantages  of 
the  city  of  El  Paso,  for  reasons  some  of  which  have 
already  been  mentioned,  and  all  of  which  we  hope  to 
demonstrate  further  on  in  this  work,  have  caused  the 
city  to  outstrip  in  its  growth  the  surrounding  country. 
The  consequence  is,  that  notwithstanding  there  are  not 
less  than  1,000,000  acres  of  alluvial  valley,  as  fertile  and 
productive  as  can  be  found  on  the  continent, — enough 
to  support  in  comfort  half  a  million  f)f  })eople, — all  of 
which,  when  settled,  must  look  to  this  city  as  its  com- 
mercial and  political  metro])()lis,  and  will  add  immensely 
to  its  stability,  wealth,  and  advancement,  we  arc  now 
sending  out  of  this  city  alone  not  less  than  sIjhio.ooo 
annually  for  the  purchase  of  Hour,  hay,  grain,  ])(>rk, 
lard,  butter,  fruits,  and  vegetables,  staples  all  of  which 
can  be  produced  here  in  great  abundance  and  variety, 
and  of  a  quality  equal  to  any,  and  under  the  most 
favored  conditions ;  for  it  must  be  remembered  that  we 
not  only  have  a  soil  of  extreme  fertility,  capable  of  })ro- 
ducing  crops  continually  without  the  use  of  fertilizers, 
but  our  climate  is  adapted  to  the  growth  of  a  greater 
variety  of  products,  either  of  fruits,  <'<'reals,  or  vegeta- 
bles, than  elsewhere,  except  under  the  same  conditions 


20  El  Paso,   Texas. 

of  soil,  latitude,  and  altitude,  and  so  healthy  and  pleas- 
ant that  there  is  not  a  day  in  the  whole  year  in  wliich 
man  or  beast  cannot  work  out  of  doors  without  fear  of 
danger  or  discomfort. 

These  facts — as  to  the  capabilities  of  our  soil,  adapt- 
ability of  our  climate,  cheapness  of  our  lands,  and 
numerous  advantages  of  market,  location,  transportation, 
and  communication,  and  the  many  pleasant  and  favor- 
able conditions  under  which  life  may  be  maintained — 
have  all  been  demonstrated  to  such  a  degree  of  success 
and  certainty  that  we  no  longer  hesitate  to  say  to  the 
intending  immigrant,  wherever  he  may  be,  whether  he 
be  farmer,  stock  raiser,  capitalist,  dairyman,  manufact- 
urer, miner,  prospector,  speculator,  merchant,  tourist,  or 
health  seeker,  that  these  pages  are  dedicated  to  him; 
that  the  time  has  come  when  we  know  it  to  be  our  duty 
to  Mm,  as  well  as  duty  and  pleasure  to  ourselves,  to 
invite  and  urge  him  to  read  these  pages,  in  which  we 
will  treat  each  special  subject  applicable  to  our  country 
and  situation  in  a  plain,  practical,  truthful  manner,  with 
a  view  of  interesting  and  informing  him,  so  that  he  may 
not  only  know  how  and  where  he  can  probably  better 
his  own  condition,  by  participating  in  and  enjoying  the 
advantages  and  benefits  to  which  we  invite  him,  but  that 
he  may  thereby  contribute  his  share  to  the  general  pros- 
perity, wealth,  and  happiness  that  must  surely  result 
from  the  settlement  and  cultivation  of  this  valley,  the 
occupation  of  our  vast  areas  for  grazing,  the  develop- 
ment of  our  mineral  resources,  the  embracing  of  our 
oj)portunities  for  manufacturing,  the  stimulation  of  our 
trade  and  commercial  relations,  the  enjoyment  of  our  fine 
scenery,  salubrious  air,  health  and  life-giving  atmo- 
sphere and  climate  ;  taking  heed  of  our  natural  location 
and  advantages,  from  which  a  great  cit}"  must  inevitably 
arise,  to  turn  an  honest  penny  by  trading  and  speculat- 
ing upon  our  prospects,  to  advance  and  invest  capital 


El  Paso  Comity— IIlHtorlcal  SJictch.  21 

upon  our  securities  and  in  our  property ;  to  not  only  stop 
forever  the  outflow  of  our  wealth,  to  the  amount  of  a 
million  annually,  for  flour,  hay,  grain,  etc.,  as  already 
mentioned,  but  to  turn  the  tide  in  our  favor  by  export- 
ing these  and  other  products,  to  th«'  amount  of  millions  ; 
in  short,  to  join  the  procession,  and  place  ourselves  un- 
der conditions  whete  the  road  to  prosperity  is  not  only 
shorter,  smoother,  safer,  and  in  all  respects  better  than 
any  we  have  ever  known,  or  to  which  we  have  been 
invited,  either  by  publications  similar  to  this,  or  in  any 
other  manner.  There  is  a  chance  here  for  everybody 
with  either  brains,  energy,  or  capital,  and  for  the  hai)py 
possessor  of  all  these  there  is  an  illimitable  fleld ;  and 
they  are  invited  to  come. 

As  we  have  already  illustrated  in  a  general  way,  the 
physical  geography,  or  rather  the  to2)ogra})hy,  of  this 
particular  locality  (the  City  of  El  Paso  and  its  immedi- 
ate surroundings)  is  remarkable,  and  of  such  a  nature 
as  to  give  it  a  commanding  iuipoitance  in  respect  to 
trade,  commerce,  and  military  and  political  affairs ;  so 
much  so  that,  we  believe,  greatness  will  be  thrust  u]iou 
it — that  it  must  become  the  commercial  and  political 
metropolis  of  the  Southwest.  Nature  lias  given  her  the 
position,  and  the  laws  of  trade  are*  as  immutable  as 
those  of  nature.  The  flnger  of  destiny  seems  to  j)oint 
unerringly  toward  this  supremacy. 

This  place  is  reached  through  a  series  of  natural 
passes  in  the  several  chains  or  groups  of  mountains 
which  lie  across  our  paths  here  in  every  direction,  east, 
west,  north,  south ;  and  this  city  is  itself  located  at  tlie 
lower  extremity  of  the  most  remarkable  of  all  thes»' 
gateways  through  nature's  great  barriers.  One  of  these 
great  chains  of  mountains  was  throwu  by  nature  from 
east  to  west  directl}'  across  the  ]>ath  (tf  the  "Rio  Bravo 
del  Norte  "  (the  brave  river  of  the  North),  as  the  Me.\- 
icans   call  it,  on  its   course   to  the  sea,  and  the  great 


22  El  Paso,   Texas. 

mountain  was  penetrated,  subdued,  conquered,  by  the 
"  Brave  River  of  the  North  ; "'  and  now  it  passes  (as  it 
has  for  untold  ages) — or  rather,  it  sweeps  majestically, 
angrily,  growlingly — through  the  great  mountain,  still 
making,  as  it  has  made  in  the  past,  a  smooth  and  peace- 
ful highway  for  commerce  with  Mexico,  all  of  North- 
western Texas,  Eastern  Arizona,  and  Southern  New 
Mexico. 

Commerce  is  the  weapon,  the  all-powerful  arm,  with 
which  we  have  entered  in  earnest,  and  with  every  pros- 
pect of  success,  upon  our  conquest  of  Mexico, — a  con- 
quest not  like  that  of  Hernando  Cortez,  or  Scott,  or 
Taylor,  yet  we  shall  enter  the  halls  of  the  proud  Monte- 
zumas  in  greater  triumph  and  return  with  a  far  richer 
reward  than  they,  and  with  no  stain  or  suspicion  of 
wrong  or  oppression  upon  our  consciences.  We  shall 
conquer  Mexico  with  our  arts  of  peace,  our  commerce ; 
and  El  Paso  will  be  the  great  highway  through  which 
it  must  be  accomplished.  And  we  will  be  richer,  and 
Mexico  both  happier,  richer,  and  more  powerful,  after 
she  is  thus  subdued.  Already  both  we  and  they  are 
feeling  the  power  and  the  beauty  and  glory  of  the  com- 
ing of  this  winged  goddess  of  peace,  as  she  nestles  lov- 
ingly here  and  flies  swiftly  there,  freighted  with  kind 
messages  and  the  arts  of  peace  and  progress.  The  rail- 
road, the  telegraph,  these  are  the  potent  agencies  of  our 
gentle  goddess ;  with  these  she  subjugates,  civilizes,  en- 
riches, and  builds  up  the  Avaste  places.  The  entire  rail- 
road and  telegraph  sj^stems  of  the  continent  are  here 
united ;  and  thus  are  we  in  communication  and  commer- 
cial intercourse  not  only  with  Mexico,  but  of  the  world, 
through  all  the  cities  and  ports  of  Mexico  as  well  as  our 
own.  Our  trade  with  Mexico  is  daily  assuming  greater 
proportions,  and,  considering  our  great  competitive  sys- 
tem of  railroads,  and  other  advantages  already  men- 
tioned, we  believe  that  our  business  relations  with  Mex- 


El  Paso   Count ij— Historical  Sketch.  23 

ico  alone  will  build  up  and  sustain  a  lari^^e  and  important 
city  here.  At  the  same  time  our  social  relations  are 
daily  becoming  more  cordial  and  pleasant.  The  barriers 
of  distrust  and  suspicion  engendfied  by  past  misunder- 
standings, and  fostered  by  foreign  intilgues  and  interests, 
are  fast  melting  away  and  disappearing  before  the  be- 
nign influence  of  this  knowledge  of  eacli  other  and  each 
other's  aims  and  aspirations,  acquired  from  tliis  inter- 
change of  ideas,  courtesies  and  commodities.  We  are 
beginning  to  think  better  of  the  Mexican  people  and 
their  country,  and  they  are  thiidving  better  of  us.  We 
are  beginning  to  understand  each  other,  and  there  is  no 
better  way  to  understand  men  or  nations  tlian  to  trade 
with  them.  And  Mexico  is  now  fairly  stjirted  on  the 
high  road  to  jDermanent  peace  and  prosperity.  She  luis 
now  the  most  powerful  as  well  as  the  most  liberal  and 
enlightened  executive  and  government  she  has  ever  hail. 
President  Diaz,  of  whom  we  speak,  is  tlie  father  of  the 
great  projected  railway  system  of  Mexico,  and  essen- 
tially, and  avowedly,  the  friend  of  progress  as  repre- 
sented by  Americans.  So  that  from  Mexico  alone  we 
have  much  to  hope  and  nothing  to  fear;  and  this  rela- 
tion, Mexico  is  beginning  to  understand,  is  entirely  re- 
ciprocal. 

In  addition  to  our  reasonable  expectations  as  to  the 
importance  of  our  geographical  situation  and  commercial 
relations  with  Mexico,  Ave  have  also  reason  to  believe 
that  the  day  is  not  far  distant  when  wi^  will  be  able  to 
permanently  command  the  entire  trade  of  Northern 
Texas,  Southern  New  Mexico  and  Eastern  Arizona. 

In  fact,  we  have  comnumded  that  tiade  for  the  i)ast 
year.  We  have  been  selling  goods  to  all  that  imrtion  of 
the  country,  and  goods  that  were  hauled  i)ast  llieir  own 
doors,  then  purchased  here  and  shipped  Inick  to  them, 
cheaper  than  they  could  lay  tliem  down  direct  from  any 
other  point.     The  competition   in   railroad  fn'ights  has 


24  VvV  /V/.so.    Tt'X'i-s. 

been  ho  sharj)  to  tliis  ])()iiit,  where  tlie  roads  terminate, 
and  to  wiiii'll  tliroiigli  rates  were  made,  tliat  all  kinds  of 
freights,  regardless  of  quantity  or  class,  from  all  com- 
peting ])()ints,  such  as  Kansas  City,  St.  Louis,  New  Or- 
leans, and  San  Fiancisco,  have  been  laid  down  here  for 
40  cents  per  100  lbs  ;  while  to  all  points  east  and  north, 
or  anywhere  on  the  lines  of  these  roads,  local  rates  pre- 
vailed, or  rates  one,  two,  three,  four,  and  even  five  times 
as  high  as  to  this  point.  Simply  because  there  was  no 
competition,  we  have  been  selling  the  same  goods  to 
those  points  that  were  hauled  past  their  doors.  And, 
further,  there  is  no  doubt  that  this  will  become  the  point 
from  which  through  and  competitive  rates  will  be  made 
on  cattle,  ores,  hay,  grain,  and  all  the  products  of  this 
country,  to  all  other  points  where  there  is  competition. 
Therefore,  and  necessarily,  these  products  will  come 
here  from  long  distances  for  shipment.  There  can  be  no 
question  of  the  future  of  this  place  in  this  regard.  It  is 
inevitable,  and  we  have  no  hesitation  in  calling  the  at 
tention  of  the  capitalist,  merchant  and  speculator  to 
these  facts.  Investigation  will  verify  them,  and  that 
investigation  we  invite.  The  reader  will,  we  hope,  not 
fail  to  note  also  what  must  be  the  effect  on  the  cost  of 
living  at  a  point  where  railroads  are  in  competition,  and 
where  rates  are  so  low. 

In  considering  this  whole  question  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  the  railroads  were  not  attracted  here  to  avail 
themselves  of  any  business  or  trade  that  already  existed ; 
they  came  solely  because  of  these  facts  of  topography, 
physical  geography,  and  the  resulting  laws  of  commerce 
which  we  have  mentioned,  and  they  will  be  the  great 
instrumentalities  of  our  glory  and  greatness.  They  will 
be,  they  are,  the  popular  vehicle  of  a  very  large  propor- 
tion of  that  commerce  between  the  two  worlds  heretofore 
carried  over  the  Isthmus,  the  seas  and  other  routes. 

But  aside  from  all  this,  and  aside  from  our  own  ex- 


Agriculture  and  Horticulture.  25 

ports  and  imports,  the  local  traffic  will  be  considerable 
and  important,  and  will  occasion  tap  railways  in  every 
direction  ;  for  there  will  have  to  be  transported,  of  our 
own  products,  ores  in  large  quantities  to  this  point, 
where  they  may  be  reduced ;  wood  and  coal  to  the  mines 
and  to  our  reduction  works,  and  other  manufactories  ; 
timber,  lumber,  iron,  building  material,  etc,  to  the  mines 
and  mills ;  breadstuffs,  fruits,  vegetables  from  the  valley 
to  the  mines  and  grazing  lands,  and  live  stock  to  the 
markets  ;  marble,  granite,  onyx,  gypsum,  sand,  and  other 
like  material,  and  innumerable  other  articles  which  enter 
into  the  list  of  necessities  and  luxuries  of  American  life, 
and  a  great  many  new  products  peculiar  to  this  combina- 
tion of  latitude  and  elevation. 


AGRICULTURE  AND  HORTICULTURE. 

That  the  valley  of  the  Rio  Grande,  especially  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  El  Paso,  affords  all  the  requisites,  and  therefore 
is  well  adapted  to  the  delightful  and  profitabh^  pur- 
suits of  the  agriculturist  and  horticulturist,  no  intelligent 
citizen  of  this  community  need  be  told.  Indeed,  it  has 
become  a  fact  so  abundantly  and  perfectly  demonstrat(»d 
that  we  wish  now  to  announce  it  to  the  world,  if  possible, 
in  an  authoritative  manner. 

To  attain  great  perfection,  and  to  achieve  the  most 
considerable  degree  of  success  in  these  pursuits,  favor- 
able conditions  of  both  soil  and  climate  must  be  found. 
We  claim  that  those  conditions  exist  here  to  as  great,  if 
not  greater,  degree  than  can  be  found  elsewhere  on  this 
continent.  Nearly  all  the  products  of  the  temperate 
zone  can  be  produced  here  in  abundance  and  perfec- 
tion.    The   cereals,  wheat,  corn,  oats,  bnrl»'v.  rve,  etc.. 


26  AV  l'(ts(>,   Texas. 

yield  ;is  iiiiich  \)vv  acic,  and  of  as  good  ([uality,  as  in  any 
part  of  tilt;  United  States. 

The  grasses — alfalfa,  millet,  timothy,  bermiida,  and  all 
others  which  have  been  thus  far  introduced,  do  well. 
The  Smyrna  millets,  grown  here  for  the  first  time  last 
year  as  a  test,  in  small  quantity,  and  under  the  most 
favored  conditions,  attained  a  gi'owth,  in  two  cuttings,  of 
ten  feet.  It  is  estimated  that  it  will  yield  from  three  to 
four  tons  per  acre.  This  is  a  perennial  of  vigorous  root 
and  growth,  spreads  rapidly,  runs  deej),  and  is,  there- 
fore, well  adapted  to  our  soil. 

Alfalfa  was,  we  believe,  lirst  introduced  into  this  vi- 
cinity by  the  late  Gen.  Magoffin,  in  1849.  It  does  re- 
markably well.  May  be  cut  from  three  to  four  times 
each  season,  aggregating  four  to  six  tons  per  acre,  and 
two  to  four  feet  in  height.  This  is  also  a  perennial,  with 
a  vigorous  growth  of  root,  penetrating  to  as  great  a  depth 
as  thirteen  feet,  showing  great  adaptability  to  a  dry 
climate.  From  present  appearances,  it  would  seem  that 
this  is  destined  to  be  the  staple  grass  crop  of  the  valley. 
It  is  very  productive,  hardy  and  tenacious  of  life,  the 
best  of  food  for  cattle,  horses,  hogs  and  chickens,  and 
has  already  become  quite  an  important  and  remunera- 
tive industry. 

Bermuda  grass,  wherever  planted,  indicates  its  love  for 
our  soil  and  its  determination  to  stay.  Its  myriad  root- 
lets permeate  the  soil  and  form  an  almost  impenetrable 
sward.  It  is  peculiarly  adapted  to  lawns,  parks,  etc., 
and  fills  exactly  that  much-needed  and  desirable  quality 
here. 

Vegetables  of  nearly  every  known  class  and  variety, 
and  especially  all  those  that  are  grown  on  vines,  such  as 
the  melon,  squash,  pumpkin,  etc.,  do  as  well  here,  in  all 
respects,  as  in  any  part  of  the  United  States.  The  El 
Paso  onion  is  already  justly  famous  above  all  others. 

Under  the  head  of  pomology,  it  may  be  said  that  our 


Agriculture  and  Horticulture.  27 

soil  and  climate  are  perfectl'y  adapted  to  the  growth  of 
apples,  pears,  23eaches,  plums,  apricots,  grapes,  quinces, 
nectarines,  almonds,  pecans,  prunes,  and  many  others, 
such  as  strawberries,  raspberries,  gooseberries,  too  nu- 
merous to  mention.  All  of  these  have  been  thoroughly 
tested ;  in  fact,  it  is  no  longer  a  matter  of  experiment 
with  any  of  them.  They  can  be  produced  here  in  abund- 
ance and  j)erfection. 

While  adapted  to  the  growth  of  all  kinds  of  grapes, 
the  old  "Mission  grape,"  of  dark  purple  liue,  widely 
known  now  (and  as  distinctively  as  the  El  Paso  onion), 
under  the  name  of  the  "El  Paso  grape,"  is  grown  here 
in  great  perfection,  and  is  a  very  superior  grape  for  tlie 
table  and  for  the  manufacture  of  wine,  brandy  and  rai- 
sins. An  acre,  with  one  thousand  good  vines,  is  worth 
here  $1,000.  A  large  quantity  of  these  grapes  (some 
10,000  baskets),  will  be  shi^Dped  this  year  to  Eastern 
markets,  yielding,  no  doubt,  a  satisfactory  remuneration. 

The  superiority  of  our  soil  and  climate  for  the  growth 
of  fruit  is  further  shown  by  the  fact  that  trees  of  the 
staple  fruits,  such  as  apples,  pears  and  peaches,  set  out 
only  two  years  since,  are  now  bearing. 

Flowers  and  shrubs  of  all  kinds  lind  here  a  natural 
and  congenial  home.  Our  alkaline  soils  can  be  utilized 
by  growing  any  of  the  great  varieties  of  the  sugar  beet, 
to  which  these  soils  seem  singularly  adapted.  The  cab- 
bage and  onion  also  thrive  just  as  well  in  such  soils; 
and  in  a  few  years  of  such  cultivation,  esi)ecially  if  ma- 
nure is  used,  the  alkali  will  be  {ibsorbod,  and  the  land 
found  suitable  to  the  growth  of  anything  grown  else- 
where in  the  valley. 

Small  farms  for  the  individual  are  preferable  to  large 
ones,  unless  there  be  a  community  of  interest  in  all  the 
people  of  a  settlement.  The  land  can  be  doubly  cropjjfd 
each  year,  so  that  one  acre  here  answers  as  well  as  two  fjir- 
tlier  north.     Every  acre  can  and  should  be  made  a  perfect 


28  El  Paso,  Texfis. 

ganh'ii,  and  it  will  <::ive  support  to  a  liuiiKUi  being. 
Willie  agents  for  colonies  are  running  hither  and  thither 
seeking  for  locations,  they  should  look  to  the  valley  ly- 
ing in  this  favored  climate,  where  lands  are  cheap,  and 
on  the  lines  of  railway.  Time,  in  this  case,  is  most 
surely  money  in  the  pockets  of  the  first  comers. 

THE    KL    PASO    GRAPE. 

The  arable  land  of  this  county,  and  particularly  of 
this  valley,  is,  as  we  have  shown,  admirably  adapted  to 
agriculture,  but  most  perfectly  to  the  El  Paso  grape. 
Those  experienced  in  the  cultivation  of  the  vine,  report 
that  all  the  conditions  of  the  soil — humidity  and  tempe- 
rature— are  united  here  to  produce  the  grape  in  the 
greatest  perfection.  The  soil,  composed  of  disintegrated 
matter  of  the  older  rocks  and  volcanic  ashes,  is  light, 
porous  and  rich.  The  frosts  in  the  winter  are  just  suffi- 
ciently severe  to  destroy  the  insects  without  injuring  the 
plant,  and  the  rain  seldom  falls  in  its  season  wiien  the 
plant  is  flowering,  or  when  the  fruit  is  coming  into  ma- 
turity and  liable  to  rot  from  exposure  to  humidity.  As 
a  consequence  of  these  conditions,  the  fruit,  when  ripe, 
has  a  thin  skin,  scarcel}^  any  pulp,  and  is  devoid  of  the 
musky  taste  so  frequent  with  American  grapes.  Yearly 
new  vineyards  are  coming  into  bearing,  counting  their 
vines  by  the  thousand,  while  the  production  of  wine  is 
becoming  annually  more  and  more  an  article  of  com- 
merce and  profit.  Here  may  be  found,  and  often  in 
great  perfection,  both  the  light  white  and  red  wines  of 
the  Rhine  and  Bordeaux,  and  the  heavier  Burgundy, 
port,  sheny,  and,  with  sufficient  age,  even  a  good  Ma- 
deira, with  a  grajie  acclimated  by  two  hundred  years  of 
cultivation,  unexcelled  for  richness  and  lusciousness  of 
flavor,  always  free  from  blight  and  disease  of  every  kind, 
so  destructive  to  European  vineyards,  so  fatal  to  wine 


Agriculture  and  Horticulture.  29 

growing  on  the  Atlantic  slope,  and  often  so  damaging 
even  to  California.  With  a  soil  and  water  as  rich  as 
that  of  the  Nile,  with  an  abundance  of  water  for  irriga- 
tion, and  with  sunny  days  and  dewless  nights,  increasing 
in  strength  as  the  summer  heats  increase,  the  wines  of 
the  Rio  Grande  Valley  promise  to  become  as  varied  and 
as  excellent  as  those  of  France  or  Spain. 


RAISINS. 

There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  this  valley  will 
become  at  no  remote  day  a  famous  raisin  district,  per- 
haps more  so  than  any  on  this  continent.  The  soil  and 
climate  are  peculiarly  adapted  to  one  of  the  best  varie- 
ties of  raisin  grapes  in  the  world.  It  is  well  known  that 
raisins,  to  possess  lasting  qualities  and  best  flavor,  must 
be  dried  in  the  sunshine,  then  passed  through  the  sweat- 
ing process,  and  packed.  And  there  is,  perhaps,  no 
place  in  America  where  the  climate  will  so  cer- 
tainly and  readily  admit  of  this  process  as  here ; 
because  at  the  period  of  closing  the  labors  of  the 
vineyard,  the  atmosphere  is  perfectly  dry  and  clear, 
with  scarcely  a  cloud  upon  the  horizon  for  months.  The 
best  raisin  in  the  world  is  made  from  the  jNIuscat  grape, 
of  Egypt,  and  is  cured  and  packed  in  just  such  an  at- 
mosphere as  this.  Our  grape,  the  ''  El  Paso  grape,"  and 
this  raisin  industry  that  will  certainly  grow  out  of  it, 
should  attract  the  attention  of  those  skilled  in  this  art, 
and  we  trust  this  article  nuiy  be  read  and  noted  by  them 
carefully. 


oO  El  Pa.so,  Texas. 


LTA'K   STOCK   AND   GRAZING. 

This  poitiou  of  tlie  country,  for  hundreds  of  miles  in 
every  direction,  outside  of  the  great  aUuvial  and  agri- 
cultural valley  of  the  Rio  Grande,  of  which  we  have  just 
written,  consists  of  plains,  uplands,  and  mountains,  and 
having  an  altitude  of  from  3,500  to  7,000  feet,  is  admira- 
bly adapted  to  stock  raising.  The  climate  is  everything 
that  could  be  desired  —  mild,  equable,  healthy.  Free 
from  the  effects  of  cold  storms,  of  drouth,  of  disease, 
with  none  of  the  enemies  which  are  so  destructive  to 
many  of  the  cattle  districts  of  the  West  and  Southwest, 
there  are  here  all  the  conditions  that  favor  the  rapid  in- 
crease and  growth  of  cattle,  horses,  sheep,  and  other  live 
stock.  The  grasses  are  of  great  variety  and  peculiar 
excellence,  due  to  the  elevation  above  the  sea,  which 
gives  life,  vitality,  and  coolness  to  the  atmosphere. 
There  is  no  reason  why  the  percentage  of  increase  should 
not  here  reach  the  maximum.  These  are,  we  believe, 
justly  considered  the  best  breeding  grounds  for  live 
stock  on  the  continent.  The  loss  from  climatic  causes  is 
absolutely  nothing.  The  new-born  calf  is  as  safe  here 
in  midwinter  as  in  summer,  and  cattle  are  never  drifted 
or  driven  from  their  ranges  by  the  violence  of  the  storms 
of  any  kind.  Northers  and  sleet  are  unknown.  We 
have  often  seen  fat  beef  shipped  to  the  eastern  markets 
from  these  ranges  in  midwinter  and  early  spring — Feb- 
ruary, March,  and  April.  The  shipments  met  with  favor 
and  profit;  and  the  changes  of  condition  in  cattle,  as 
between  winter  and  summer,  is,  perhaps,  less  here  than 
on  any  portion  of  the  continent.  The  topography  of  the 
country  is  such,  that  the  shelter  and  drainage  are  per- 
fect. The  grasses  are  greener,  sweeter,  and  more  nutri- 
tious in  the  higher  altitudes  in  and  around  the  mountains, 


Live  Stock  and  Grazing.  31 

and  the  cattle  in  better  condition.  There  is  no  question, 
that  the  mountain  ranges,  will,  at  all  seasons  of  the  year, 
afford  the  best  of  beef.  The  facilities  for  marketing  stock, 
procuring  supplies,  labor,  etc.  for  the  ranch,  are  excel- 
lent, probably  none  better  are  to  be  found.  A  great 
competitive  system  of  railroads  centers  here,  hauling 
empty  cars  eastward,  and  low  rates  can  be  obtained.  In 
fact,  all  the  conditions  exist  here,  for  the  successful 
breeding  and  fattening  of  live  stock,  and  for  making  El 
Paso  the  center  of  an  immense  live  stock  interest,  cover- 
ing all  of  Northern  Mexico,  Western  Texas,  Southern 
New  Mexico,  and  Eastern  Arizona. 

The  only  drawback  to  the  business  is  the  scarcity  of 
water.  About  two-thirds  of  this  great  grazing  country  is 
without  natural  water,  and  in  order  to  make  this  vast 
region  available,  it  will  be  necessary  to  resort  to  wells, 
wind-mills,  reservoirs,  and  other  artificial  means.  While 
these  are  not  as  good  in  all  respects  as  natural  waters, 
they  have  some  peculiar  and  important  advantages.  By 
enclosing  these  artificial  wells,  the  cattle  can  be  made 
tame  and  gentle,  not  only  adding  to  their  fiesh  and  value, 
but  greatly  diminishing  the  cost  of  herding,  handling,  and 
shipping,  but  they  will  locate"  more  easily  and  perma- 
nently ;  and  such  ranges  will  not  be  encroached  upon 
by  others,  to  any  extent  at  all  equal  to  those  located  on 
natural  waters.  In  fact,  there  are  no  reasons  why  the 
ranges  supplied  with  water  by  artificial  means  are  not 
quite  as  desirable,  even  more  so,  than  those  located  on 
natural  waters.  A  little  enterprise  and  capital  will  soon 
overcome  these  aj)parent  difficulties,  and  some  of  the  best 
ranges  in  the  world  will  be  had  at  a  mimimum  cost;  for 
the  price  of  these  dry  lands  is  very  low  indeed,  particu- 
larly in  Northern  Mexico.  The  difierence  in  price  in 
favor  of  the  dry  lands  will,  no  doubt,  more  than  pay  the 
cost  of  artificially  obtaining  abundant  supplies  of  water. 
Life  and  property  are  as   much  respected  and  as  safe 


32  AV   /'"•s•'^    Trx<(s. 

(tvci-  all  this  region,  including  Northern  Mexj.co,  as  in 
any  of  I  lie  Western  States  or  Territories. 

All  these  favorahle  conditions  Avill  he  found  to  exist 
here,  and  we  have  no  hesitation  in  inviting  all  men  inter- 
ested in  this  great  question  to  come  and  examine  for 
themselves.  They  will  iind  vast  vacant  areas  covered 
with  an  abundance  of  nutritious  food,  to  which  perfect 
titles  can  be  acquired,  a  mild,  equable  climate,  first-class 
facilities  for  market,  security,  and  every  requisite  and 
element  necessary  to  success,  A  branch  of  the  "  National 
Live  Stoclv  Association  "  is  located  here,  and  is  also  do- 
ing good  work  and  arousing  considerable  interest  in 
Northern  Mexico. 

Live  stock  and  lands  in  Mexico  are  exempt  from  tax- 
ation. 

In  short,  it  may  be  said,  that  for  the  profitable  raising 
of  horses,  mules,  cattle,  sheep,  and  goats  on  an  extensive 
scale,  no  portion  of  the  world  can  rival  this  district.  Its 
mild  climate  presents  no  rigors,  while  its  mountain  slopes, 
valleys,  and  plains,  are  unlimited  ranges  of  excellent 
pasturage.  The  grasses  of  these  plains  and  slopes  are 
by  no  means  the  least  of  nature's  wonders.  The  "  gram- 
ma" and  "  mesquite "  varieties,  which  most  abound, 
have  a  peculiar  tenacity  of  life,  and  survive  a  succession 
of  dry  seasons,  and  when  apparently  dead  a  few  showers 
will  bring  them  out  in  full  freshness  ;  indeed,  they  change 
from  a  single  shower.  These  grasses  are  sweet  and  nu- 
tricious,  dry  or  green,  and  cattle  thrive  and  fatten  on 
them.  They  cure  on  the  ground  before  the  coming  of 
the  frost,  making  a  natural  hay.  The  natural  configui'a- 
tion  of  this  vast  region  is  not  the  least  of  the  many  de- 
sirable advantages  it  presents.  Situated  as  it  is,  from 
4,000  to  7,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  fanned  by 
the  purest  atmosj^here,  giving  a  cool,  refreshing  and  salu- 
brious climate,  pure  and  healthy  water,  the  succession 
of  mountain  and  valley  affords  the  most  ample  defence 


Live  Stock  and  Grazing.  33 

against  the  heat  of  summer,  as  well  as  the  storms  of 
winter,  which,  however,  are  so  little  to  be  dreaded  that 
artiticial  protection,  shelter,  or  food  of  any  kind,  is 
wholly  unnecessary,  and  is  never  provided.  Our  mesas 
(table  lands),  mountain  gorges,  and  many  portions  of 
our  plains,  are  most  prolific  in  a  variety  of  herbage  suit- 
able for  all  classes  of  animals,  but  especially  for  sheep. 
During  the  winter  they  afford  a  supply  of  pasturage  so 
abundant  that  no  additional  food  is  required.  By  con- 
stant and  steady  supply  of  proper  food  by  which  the 
secretory  powers  are  retained  in  full  action,  the  uninter- 
rupted increase  of  meat  and  fat  in  animals,  and  of  growth 
of  wool  on  sheep,  is  promoted ;  while  cases  of  constipa- 
tion and  various  diseases,  frequently  fatal  in  the  States, 
by  reason  of  sudden  changes  of  food,  are  unknown  here. 
There  is  not  a  day  in  the  year  in  which  cattle  and  sheep 
cannot  find  here  sufficient  food  of  a  proper  kind  to  keep 
their  digestive  organs  in  a  healthy  condition.  Untold 
wealth  is  going  to  waste  here  every  year,  because  our 
grasses  are  not  consumed — a  wealth  that  will  prove 
greater  than  our  vast  mineral  deposits.  The  one  we 
have  in  the  earth,  the  other  we  have  the  means  of  pro- 
ducing on  the  soil.  Come,  then,  and  gather  some  of  this 
wealth  from  the  surface,  by  providing  means  to  consume 
these  grasses — a  most  pleasant  and  profitable  business 
under  such  conditions  as  are  to  be  found  here. 

No  intelligent  man  need  be  told  that  the  raising  of  live 
stock  is  profitable.  We  will  only  point  to  its  history 
during  the  past  ten  years.  Nothing  has  ever  equaled  it 
in  results.  It  must  always  remain  a  good  business. 
More  money  has  been  made  in  cattle  during  the  past  ten 
years  than  in  any  other  business  that  can  be  named. 
And  the  raising  of  sheep  and  horses  has  also  been  very 
remunerative. 

3 


84  Kl  Pdso^    Texan. 


MINES  AND  MINERALS. 

There  can  be  no  question  that  there  is  mineral  wealth 
in  nearly  all  of  our  surrounding  mountains,  for  Imndreds 
of  miles  in  every  direction.  Thousands  of  good  pros- 
pects have  been  found  in  the  Organs,  the  Jarillas,  the 
San  Andres,  the  Guadalupe,  the  Quitman,  the  Chenati 
and  Eagle  Mountains,  constituting  the  groups  nearest  to 
El  Paso,  and  forming  a  background  to  the  great  picture 
of  whicli  El  Paso  is  both  the  focus  and  radiating  point. 
In  the  Organs,  several  of  these  prospects  can  now  fairly 
be  called  mines.  They  have  reached  a  stage  of  consid- 
erable development  and  are  worked  with  profit,  shipping 
their  ores  to  Denver  and  Pueblo,  Colorado,  or  to  Socorro 
or  Kingston,  New  Mexico,  for  reduction.  Many  others 
are  in  process  of  development,  and  are  dumping  their 
ores  upon  the  ground,  awaiting  the  advent  of  a  railroad, 
or  reduction  works.  Several  promising  discoveries  have 
been  made  within  a  few  miles  of  this  city.  There  are, 
no  doubt,  hundreds  of  these  prospects  that  can  be  worked 
with  profit  the  moment  the  questions  of  transportation 
and  reduction  are  solved  satisfactorily,  so  that  the  profits 
may  not  be  consumed  in  these  processes.  All  of  this 
applies  with  equal  force  to  that  vast  portion  of  Northern 
Mexico  of  which  El  Paso  is  already,  and  must  always 
remain,  the  business  center. 

In  fact,  there  seems  to  be  no  end  to  the  mineral  wealth 
of  this  country,  far  and  near,  in  every  direction ;  and  one 
cannot  but  be  amazed  in  contemplating  the  results  which 
must  follow  its  development.  Scarcely  a  day  passes 
that  we  do  not  hear  of  some  discovery  within  this  scope 
of  country. 

Coal  has  also  been  discovered  on  three  sides.  North, 
150  miles,  is  the  White  Oaks  deposit,  west- 150  is  the 
Corralitas  deposit,  and  southeast,  100  miles,  the  Eagle 


Mines  and  Minerals.  35 

Springs  deposit,  only  four  miles  from  tlie  Galveston, 
Htirrisburg  &  San  Antonio  Railway.  The  quality  of  this 
coal  is  excellent,  particularly  the  White  Oaks  deposit, 
which  is  pronounced  to  be  inferior  to  none  in  the  world. 

All  of  this  great  mineral  district  has  been  retarded  in 
its  development  by  the  lack  of  capital,  not  only  to  work 
the  mines,  but  to  furnish  cheap  transportation,  cheap 
fuel  and  reduction  and  smelting  works.  The  question 
of  transportation  is  now  partially  solved  by  the  railroads 
already  constructed  and  centering  here ;  and  with  pres- 
ent facilities  there  is  no  doubt  of  the  capacity  of  the  dis- 
tricts now  being  worked,  and  where  railroad  facilities 
are  within  reach,  to  supply  this  city  with  sufficient  ore  to 
cause  it  to  begin  to  assume  the  importance  of  a  center  for 
smelting  and  reduction  works,  which  we  are  satisfied  it 
must  inevitably  do  ;  for  it  must  be  borne  in  mind,  in  con- 
sidering such  a  statement,  that  we  have  unequaled  rail- 
road facilities,  where  there  will  always  be  more  or  less ' 
competition,  both  in  hauling  coal,  the  most  important 
factor,  and  in  hauling  the  ores.  These  ores  contain  the 
necessary  fluxes  for  smelting  readily  and  cheaply. 

That  mining  as  a  business  will  pay,  it  is  only  neces- 
sary for  us  to  point  to  the  statistics  and  history  concern- 
ing it,  as  shown  in  California,  Nevada,  Utah,  Colorado, 
Wyoming  and  Montana.  Such  progress  has  been  made, 
both  in  the  art  and  science  of  mining,  that  under  like 
conditions  of  management  there  is  no  reason  why  it 
should  not  be  classed  as  one  of  the  legitimate  pursuits, 
with  every  essential  element  of  safety  and  success. 

There  are  also  large  deposits  of  salt  in  the  eastern 
portion  of  the  county,  about  ninety  miles  from  El  Paso, 
from  which  great  quantities  of  an  excellent,  pure  salt  is 
taken. 

Limestone  is  also  found  in  great  abundance,  from 
which  the  J^est  of  lime  is  made.  Several  kilns  are  estab- 
lished near  the  city. 


36  El  Paso,   Texas. 

Large  beds  of  clay  also  abound,  from  which  an  excel- 
lent quality  of  brick  is  made;  tiling  and  a  coarse  variety 
of  ware  is  made  from  it  also.  The  Origan  Mountains 
also  furnish  kaolin,  the  substance  from  which  fine  china 
and  porcelain  are  made. 

Marble  of  a  very  line  and  superior  quality  has  also 
been  discovered  in  several  localities,  not  far  from  El 
Paso,  and  will  soon  be  quarried,  proiitably  no  doubt. 

A  deposit  of  the  beautiful  Mexican  onyx  has  also  been 
lately  discovered  and  located  a  few  miles  northwest 
of  the  city. 

One  of  the  largest  known  deposits  of  gypsum,  of  the 
variety  known  as  anhydrite,  much  resembling  granulated 
sugar,  does  not  require  calcining,  and  when  ground 
makes  an  excellent  hydraulic  cement,  is  situated  about 
seventy  miles  north  of  El  Paso ;  is  twenty  by  sixty  miles 
in  extent,  and  is  open  for  location,  and,  no  doubt,  will 
some  day  prove  of  value. 

Building  stone  of  several  kinds,  and  in  great  quantity, 
lies  almost  within  the  city  limits,  and  is  abundant  evei  y- 
where  near  the  mountains.  Among  those  that  abound 
are  limestone,  granite  and  sandstone. 

An  important  feature  of  the  mines  in  this  vicinity  is 
that  the  prospects  are  generally  sufficiently  rich  from 
the  very  surface  to  pay  the  working  expenses ;  and, 
where  this  ore  can  be  reduced,  there  Is  no  reason  why 
the  work  should  not  progress.  The  mines  are,  as  a  rule, 
situated  at  high  altitudes,  and  the  formation  is  not  per- 
meated with  water,  there  being  no  snow  at  this  altitude 
sufficient  either  to  penneate  the  formation  or  prevent 
work  at  any  and  all  times.  The  danger  of  caving  and 
necessity  for  timbering  throughdut  is  avoided.  All  of 
which  adds  materially  to  the  proiits.  To  the  capitalist, 
miner  and  prospector,  we  would  say.  Come,  here  is  a 
field  worthy  of  your  attention. 


Irrigation.  37 


IRRIGATION. 

ITS  HISTORY,  INTRODUCTION  INTO  AMERICA,  AND  PRESENT 

ASPECT. 

The  greatest  prerequisite  to  success  in  agriculture, 
fruit-raising,  etc.,  in  the  Western  States  and  Territories, 
is  water.  A  constant  and  abundant  supply  of  water  is 
the  true  key  to  Western  progress  and  development.  In 
nearly  all  of  that  country  the  rainfall  is  totally  insuffi- 
cient, and  not  to  be  relied  upon ;  hence  Western  people 
have  been  forced  to  study  the  problem  of  irrigation. 
Having  been  forced  to  look  into  this  question,  we  natu- 
rally try  to  trace  up  its  origin  and  history. 

The  system  found  in  California  and  in  this  country 
has  been  bequeathed  to  us  by  Mexico,  and  was  inherited 
by  them  from  Spain.  Looking  farther  back,  we  find 
that  it  was  one  among  the  numy  good  gifts  which  the 
Moors  gave  to  Spain  when  they  overran  that  country  in 
the  8th  century.  Whether  the  Moors  obtained  it  direct 
from  the  Arabs,  or  took  it  from  the  Egyi)tians,  we  are 
unable  to  determine  at  this  late  day.  But  in  inquiring 
after  its  still  more  ancient  origin  and  sourc(\  we  must 
not  stop  this  side  of  the  valleys  of  the  Eui)hrates  and 
Tigris.  If  we  start  here,  in  the  dim  and  shadowy  ages 
of  antiquity,  beyond  which  even  traditicm  becomes  unin- 
telligible, we  will  find  that,  with  few  exceptions,  the 
highest  types  of  civilization  and  the  brightest  examples 
of  progress  and  prosperity  have  been  located,  sustained 
and  nurtured  by  systems  of  irrigation. 

A  FEW  PERTINENT  EXAMPLES. 

The  glory,  grandeur  and  wealth  of  royal  Babylon,  of 
Nineveh,  Thebes,  Bagdad,  Cairo  and   Mcmjiliis.  around 


3U4S<W 


38  El  Paso,  Texas. 

wliich,  as  common  rentfrs,  tin;  civilization  of  great  peri- 
ods of  time  liung  and  radiated,  were  all  attributable 
to  and  dependent  upon  tlie  agricultural  perfection  sur- 
rounding them,  and  made  j)<)ssible  by  irrigation.  "We 
might  go  furtluT,  and  say  that  it  has  been  the  support 
and  sustenance  of  the  civilized  world  long  after  the  cess- 
ation of  Roman  sway.  Foi-  none  will  fail  to  recognize 
that  the,  Nile  country  alone  supiK)rted  what  was  known 
as  the  Roman  world,  and  that  Egypt  was  always  regard- 
ed as  the  granary  of  the  empire.  The  Egyptian  people 
were  overthrown  and  vjinquished,  but  their  system  of 
irrigation  survived  and  gave  sustenance  to  Roman  civ- 
ilization, and  remained  intact  throughout  all  the  vicissi- 
tudes and  changes.  If  anything,  irrigation  w^as  better 
in  the  days  of  Semiramis  than  in  the  days  of  Boabdil, 
although,  like  the  other  concomitants  of  the  beautiful 
Alhambra,  orchards,  vineyards  and  meadows,  as  then 
seen  along  the  banks  of  the  Guadalquiver,  speak  of  a 
splendid  development,  both  material  and  intellectual. 
The  Moors  obtained  from  their  Arab  progenitors  a  taste 
for  astronomy  and  some  inclination  toward  practical 
mathematics,  and  to  some  extent  we  find  applied  mathe- 
matics in  its  crude  state  assisting  in  making  large  por- 
tions of  their  country-  bloom  and  blossom  as  the  rose  by 
the  ingenious  devices  which  the  Moors  had  of  supplying 
water  to  the  gardens,  orchards,  vineyards  and  beautiful 
meadows  which  dotted  old  Hispania  during  their  occu- 
pancy. 

It  is  a  fact  which  cannot  be  controverted,  that  after 
the  reconquest  of  Spain  and  the  expulsion  of  the  Moris- 
coes,  Spain  began  to  decline.  The  splendid  schools  of 
Granada,  and  the  numerous  manufactories  of  Valencia 
and  other  places,  gradually  faded  away  and  left  Spain 
without  any  support,  save  that  which  she  gathered  by 
the  sword,  for  she  had  neglected  almost  entirely  her 
in'igation  system ;  and  the  apology  for  one  which  we 


Irrigation.  39 

have,  and  which  was  found  in  California  when  that  State 
was  acquired,  is  the  system  handed  down  by  the  suc- 
cessors of  those  Sj^aniards  who  vanquished  and  expelled 
the  Moriscoes  from  Spain, 

A  NEW  SYSTEM  NEEDED. 

It  is  our  purpose  now  to  show  the  inadequacy  of  this 
system,  and  the  present  results  of  it,  as  compared  with 
the  capabilities  and  possibilities  of  a  new  system  which 
the  progressive  American  demands  and  will  have.  We 
have  touched  but  very  briefly  upon  its  antiquity,  for  the 
reason  that  four-fifths,  we  might  even  say  nine-tenths  of 
English- speaking  people  are  practically  unacquainted 
with  this  system.  Their  civilization,  comparatively 
speaking,  is  in  its  infancy;  it  is  still  jejune,  and  has 
grown  up  in  a  climate  of  moisture  and  regular  rainfall, 
and  operating  upon  what  might  be  termed  virgin  soil, 
and  until  recently  the  people  of  the  United  States  had 
no  necessity  of  irrigation.  But  times  are  changing,  and 
the  time  v/ill  come  when  four-fifths  of  the  population  of 
America  may  be  dependent  upon  irrigation  in  their  agri- 
cultural pursuits.  Then,  we  say,  we  will  do  well  to  look 
into  this  question,  and  when  the  American  idea  once 
takes  hold  of  it,  systems  new  and  prolific  will  evolve 
wonderful  results. 

Having  brought  the  reader  down  to  the  consideration 
of  this  point,  we  make  the  broad  statement  that  the  re- 
sults of  irrigation  in  California,  Colorado,  Arizona  and 
New  Mexico  show,  in  a  large  majority  of  instances,  an 
increase  of  one  hundred  per  cent,  over  results  dependent 
upon  rainfall  alone  in  the  Eastern  and  Middle  States. 
The  history  of  the  West  proves  our  statement  to  be  cor- 
rect. Tliis  once  admitted,  then  here  in  the  valley  of  the 
Rio  Grande  the  soil,  the  climate  and  the  water  must 
cause  the  reader  to  stop  and  investigate,  with  renewed 


40  El  Paso,  Texas. 

and  Ciller  interest,  the  conditions  and  statements  which 
we  place  before  them. 

THE  AMERICAN  NILE. 

Our  Rio  Grande  is  the  American  Nile.  The  similarity 
is  complete — the  analogy  remarkable.  The  Nile  has  its 
source  in  an  interior  plateau — the  Alps  of  Abyssinia, 
many  of  which  are  covered  in  their  winter  time  by  heavy 
masses  of  snow.  The  lower  portions  of  the  great  plateau 
are  visited  during  April  by  perfect  deluges  of  rain,  such 
as  only  tropical  countiies  can  produce.  The  accumula- 
tion of  these  torrential  rains,  and  the  melting  of  the  Alp- 
ine snows,  causes  the  river  to  rise  with  almost  clock-like 
regularity  between  the  first  and  fifth  days  of  May,  and 
by  the  end  of  that  month  it  is  booming  and  bank  full. 
The  turbid  floods  go  tearing  their  way  through  rough 
defiles  and  deep  canons  that  fissure  a  volcanic  country", 
the  formation  of  wiiich,  travelers  tell  us,  is  very  much 
like  that  of  Colorado,  with  limestone,  granite,  and  occa- 
sional vast  trachyte  formations  predominating.  The 
waters  become  thoroughly  charged  with  a  combination 
of  mineral  ingredients,  which  contain  in  themselves  all 
the  elements  of  fertility.  When  the  turbid  floods  reach 
the  great  valley  of  Nubia  and  Egypt  they  are  of  a  slimy 
consistence,  and  about  the  beginning  of  June,  just  be- 
fore the  annual  planting  time  begins  in  that  country, 
they  commence  to  overflow  their  banks  and  spread  over 
the  valley  lands,  which  have  been  in  a  state  of  cultiva- 
tion ever  since  Abraham's  time,  and  probably  long  be- 
fore. Whatever  the  crops  of  the  preceding  xe^v  may 
have  abstracted  from  the  soil  is  more  than  restored  by 
the  abundant  deposit  of  fertile  mud  which  the  river 
leaves  behind  when  its  period  of  boom  is  over.  The 
lands  are  found  covered  with  a  crust  of  stiff"  slime,  con- 
taining lime,  potash,  chlorides,  ammonia,  and  various 
other  valuable   ingredients.      Into   this   rich   slime   thi' 


Irriyation.  41 

Egyptian  fellah  casts  liis  seed,  and  in  an  incnMlibly  short 
time,  Avith  scarcely  any  cultivation,  and  only  such  sub- 
sequent and  additional  irrigation  as  the  reservoirs  filled 
during  the  river's  rise  will  allow,  he  reaps  more  than  an 
hundred  fold.  No  manure  is  ever  applied,  but  the  soil 
is  constantly  getting  richer,  and  bears  at  the  present 
day,  after  a  thousand  years  of  neglect  and  mismanage- 
ment, better  crops  than  in  the  days  of  tlie  Pharaohs  and 
Ptolemies. 

THE  Nile's  step-brother. 

High  up  on  the  interior  plateau  of  Southern  Colorado, 
in  the  legendary  country  of  San  Juan,  among  wild  crags 
and  heaven-aspiring  battlements  covered  with  eternal 
snow,  rises  the  Rio  Grande,  or  as  the  Spaniards,  who 
must  have  seen  it  first  some  time  in  May  or  June,  called 
it,  the  Brave  River  of  the  North.  It  rises  in  the  great 
porphyritic  formation  of  the  San  Juan,  near  Ouray  and 
Lake  City,  and  is  fed  by  the  immense  snow  masses  that 
almost  constantly  cover  that  inhospitable  country.  It 
tears  its  way  out  like  a  young  giant,  grinding  the  rocks 
to  pieces  as  it  goes  along,  and  becomes  surcharged  with 
their  mineral  constituents,  identically  the  same  that  the 
waters  of  the  Nile  contain,  and  only  adding  an  immense 
quantity  of  aluminoid  detritus,  which  makes  it  muddier 
even  than  "  Old  Muddy,"  the  Missouri  itself.  The  simi- 
larity of  the  chemical  constituents  of  the  two  kinds  of 
water  has  often  been  noted  by  scientific  travelers  and 
experts.  Both,  after  being  allowed  to  settle,  show  a 
liquid  of  limpid  purity,  and  of  remarkably  pleasant  taste 
and  wholesome  character.  But  in  their  native  turbu- 
lency,  both  are  equally  muddy,  and  leave  the  same  thick 
sediment  of  slimy  mud  behind,  after  their  waters  recede 
from  an  ovei-flow.  This  takes  place  with  our  Rio  Grande 
usually  in  May  and  June,  when  the  immense  snow 
masses  of  the  San  Juan  country  begin  to  melt.     Then  the 


42  El  Paso,   Texas. 

rivor  playH  sonin  fant.'istic  pranks,  occasionally  oveiilow- 
ing  its  banks  IVorii  foot-hill  to  foot-hill. 

These  amiable  eccentricities  will  have  to  be  curbed 
when  the  ])o])ulation  of  the  valley  becomes  denser  and 
more  v\mericanize(l.  .Iiulicicjus  rip-rai)ping  at  exposed 
angles,  and  a  general  planting  of  the  banks  with  willows 
and  Bennuda  grass,  and  the  building  of  the  great  canal, 
will  ])revent  overllows  except  by  means  of  the  irrigating 
channels. 

This  annual  rise  of  our  Rio  Grande  begins  at  the  very 
time  when  irrigation  becomes  necessary — immediately 
when  ready  for  the  plough  and  the  seed.  It  continues 
during  June  and  July,  and  usually  lasts  long  enough  to 
tie  on  to  the  rainy  season  of  July  and  August. 

The  system  of  ditches  is  at  present  badly  planned  and 
very  inadequate  for  the  purpose  intended.  The  acequia 
madre  which  supplies  Paso  del  Norte  with  water  is  about 
as  good  a  specimen  of  an  irrigating  ditch,  planned  and 
executed  by  Mexican  labor  only,  as  we  can  find  in  the 
valley.  There  is  at  present  scarcely  any  systematic  at- 
temjDt  along  the  whole  course  of  the  river,  from  the  north- 
ern boundary  of  New  Mexico  down  to  where  the  canon 
country  below  the  mouth  of  the  Concho  River  commences, 
to  construct  suitable  dams  below  the  points  where  it  is 
intended  to  take  out  acequias,  and  thus  obtain  a  full 
head  and  a  constant  supply  of  water  at  a  comparatively 
trifling  expense.  All  these  points  will  come  to  be  better 
understood  and  executed  after  a  while,  when  a  pushing 
and  energetic  American  population  occupies  the  valley 
and  converts  its  fertile  but  now  unused  lands  into  vine- 
yards and  orchards. 

The  construction  of  a  great  irrigating  canal,  such  as  is 
in  contemplation  at  the  present  time,  to  extend  from  El 
Paso  to  near  Camp  Rice,  demands  naturally  a  large  out- 
lay of  labor  and  material.  To  repay  this  outlay,  all  the 
waters  so  taken  out  must  be  used  to  advantage,  and  large 


Irrigation.  43 

tracts  of  land  must  thus  hecome  dependent  upon  the  one 
great  canal.  No  single  farmer,  and  no  single  neighbor- 
hood, can  undertake  such  a  task.  Co-operative  labor 
must  be  organized,  or  capital  be  induced  to  assist  and 
take  hold. 

THE  VALLEY  IRRIGATING  CANAL. 

Our  readers  will  pardon  us  if  we  again  refer  to  this 
subject,  but  its  importance  demands  it.  This  canal  once 
constructed,  every  acre  within  the  valley  will  become  a 
vineyard,  an  orchard,  or  meadow.  All  the  idle  water 
which  flows  wastefully  to  the  Gulf,  will  be  made  to  yield 
the  greater  part  of  its  wealth  of  plant  food  which  it 
holds  in  suspension,  and  we  will  no  longer  witness  this 
great  volume  of  water  running  past  our  doors  while  our 
ditches  are  dry,  when  they  should  be  full  to  overflowing. 

The  flow  of  water  in  the  Rio  Grande  is  ample  for  the 
needs  of  the  valley.  The  opportunity  is  here  offered  to 
the  capitalist  to  make  a  profitable  investment  in  an  en- 
terprise which  will  give  a  richer  return  than  can  be  found 
elsewhere  in  this  country.  The  cost  of  a  canal  from  El 
Paso  to  Camp  Rice,  a  distance  of  53  miles,  has  been  esti- 
mated to  be  approximately  $250,000.  There  would  })e 
tributary  to  such  a  canal  some  150,000  acres  of  valley 
land,  ready  for  cultivation  as  soon  as  water  can  be  ob- 
tained. Every  acre  of  this  land  would  then  contribute 
to  the  canal  company  a  yearly  stij^end  of  say  one  dollar 
for  water  privileges,  which  would  insure  to  the  investois 
a  net  income  of  about  $100,000  per  annum.  These  facts 
and  figures  can  be  verified  by  personal  investigation. 
Capital  is  now,  for  the  first  time  in  three  years,  beginning 
to  look  to  the  far  West,  and  with  restored  confidence  and 
abundant  crops  there  is  no  point  in  the  West  which  will 
command  that  attention  which  El  Paso  will  command  in 
the  near  future. 


44  El  Paso,  Texas. 


STATISTICAL  AND  SCIENTIFIC. 

If  tlie  reader  is  not  deternnl  hy  a  few  dry  farts  and 
prosaic  fi<2;ures,  he  will  iind  it  jjrofitable  to  follow  us 
with  due  patience  a  little  while  longer. 

In  a  G^eiieral  way,  the  limit  of  agriculture,  without  irri- 
gation is  indicat(^d  by  the  curve  of  20  inches  rainfall,  and 
where  the  rainfall  is  equally  distributed  throughout  the 
year,  this  limitation  is  without  exception.  But  in  certain 
districts  the  rainfall  is  concentrated  in  certain  months, 
so  as  to  produce  a  "  rainy  season ;"  and  wherever  the 
temperature  of  the  rainy  season  is  adapted  to  the  raising 
of  crops,  it  is  found  tliat  farming  can  l)e  carried  on  with 
even  a  little  less  than  20  inches  of  annual  rain.  This, 
however,  holds  good  only  in  certain  portions  of  the 
United  States.  Nowhere  in  Texas  are  20  inches  of  rain 
sufficient  for  agriculture,  while  in  Dakota  and  Minnesota 
a  much  less  amount  is  sufficient. 

The  annual  rainfall  in  El  Paso,  as  ascertained  by  a 
series  of  observations  for  a  number  of  years  (over  twen- 
ty), has  been  found  to  be  8.53  inches.  This  precipitation 
is  distributed  generally  in  the  following  ratio :  Spring, 
0.43  inches  ;  summer,  3.49  inches  ;  fall,  3.38  inches  ;  win- 
ter, 1.23  inches.  Thus  at  a  glance  will  be  seen  the  utter 
hopelessness  of  carrying  on  agriculture  of  any  kind  in 
this  section  of  country  without  artificial  irrigation. 

In  comparison  with  the  8.53  inches  of  annual  rainfall 
at  El  Paso  we  find  31.30  inches  at  San  Antonio,  27.58  at 
New  Braunfels,  33.52  at  Austin,  and  22. Gl  inches  even  at 
Fort  Clark.  At  all  of  these  places  *"  dry  fanning''  can 
be  carried  on,  and  ordinarily  with  profit  and  a  reason- 
able share  of  certainty.  But  there  will  be  occasional 
droughts  or  cloud-bursts,  and  sometimes  a  whole  season's 
hard  labor  is  lost  to  the  patient  husbandman  without  a 
particle  of  fault  on  his  part.     But  how  does  the  fanner. 


Irrigation.  45 

gardener  and  orcliardist  stand  in   districts   depending^ 
upon  irrigation  ? 

ADVANTAGES  OF  A  SYSTEM  OF  IRRIGATION. 

Crops  cultivated  by  irrigation  are  not  subject  to  the 
vicissitudes  of  rainfall.  The  farmer  fears  no  drouglits ; 
his  labors  are  seldom  interrupted,  and  his  crops  are 
rarely  injured  by  storms.  This  immunity  from  drought 
and  storms  renders  agricultural  operations  much  more 
certain  and  profitable  than  in  regions  of  greater  humid- 
ity. Again,  the  water  comes  down  from  the  mountains 
and  plateaus  freighted  with  fertilizing  materials  derived 
from  decaying  vegetation  and  the  soils  of  the  upper  re- 
gions, wliich  are  spread  by  the  water  used  in  irrigation 
over  the  cultivated  lands. 

It  may  safely  be  anticipated  that  all  the  lands  re- 
deemed by  irrigation  in  the  Rio  Grande  valley  will  be 
highly  cultivated  and  abundantly  productive,  and  agri- 
culture will  be  but  slightly  subject  to  the  vicissitudes  of 
scant  and  excessive  rainfall.  A  stranger  entering  this 
region  for  the  first  time  is  apt  to  conclude  that  the  soil 
is  sterile,  because  of  its  chemical  composition,  but  expe- 
rience demonstrates  the  fact  that  all  the  soils  are  suit- 
able for  agricultural  purposes  when  properly  suppli(^d 
with  water.  Altogether  the  fact  suggests  that  far  too 
much  attention  has  heretofore  been  paid  to  the  chemical 
composition  of  soils,  and  too  little  to  those  physical  con- 
ditions by  which  moisture  and  air  are  supjilied  to  the 
roots  of  the  growing  plants. 

PRACTICAL   AND   THEORETICAL   DETAILS. 

The  unit  of  water  employed  in  irrigating  enterprises 
in  the  AYest  is  usually  the  inch, — nu^aiiiiig  thtM-oby  the 
amount  of  water  that  will   ilow   throuuh   an  oriticc  one 


4C)  El  Paso,   Texas. 

imh  yqiuiro.  13u(  in  ])nicticp  tliis  (j^iiantity  is  very  in- 
definite, due  to  the  "  head,"  or  amount  of  pressure  from 
above  ;  in  some;  districts  this  latter  is  tak«m  at  six  inches. 
Another  source  of  uncertainty  exists  in  the  fact  that 
increase  in  the  size  of  the  orifice  and  increase  in  the 
amount  of  How  do  not  progress  in  tlie  same  ratio.  An 
orilice  of  one  square  inch  will  not  admit  of  a  discharge 
one-tenth  as  great  as  an  orifice  of  ten  square  inches. 
An  inch  of  water,  therefore,  is  variable  with  the  size  of 
the  stream  as  well  as  with  the  head  or  pressure.  With 
the  influx  of  Americans  into  the  Rio  Grande  Valley,  it 
will  become  necessary  to  adopt  a  more  definite  mode  of 
measuring  irrigating  water.  In  measuring  the  volume 
of  water  which  is  carried  down  by  a  stream,  it  is  usual 
to  state  the  number  of  cubic  feet  which  the  stream  will 
deliver  per  second. 

This  matter — ascertaining  the  amount  of  water  flow- 
ing down  the  Rio  Grande  at  different  seasons  of  the  year 
— is  one  of  exceeding  importance  in  estimating  the  agri- 
cultural capacities  of  the  valley,  and  it  is  unfortunate 
that  the  task  has  never  been  performed  in  a  thorough 
and  systematic  manner.  Some  very  valuable  estimates 
of  the  volume  of  water  in  the  river  were  made  some 
thirty  years  ago,  when  the  first  official  boundary  line 
between  the  two  republics  was  run  by  Emory ;  but  as 
they  were  made  at  only  one  particular  stage  of  the  river, 
and  did  not  extend  over  the  full  period  of  a  year,  their 
value  in  an  investigation  of  this  subject  is  only  acci- 
dental. Then  again  at  Del  Norte,  not  far  from  the  head- 
waters of  the  river,  observations  were  made  by  the 
Powell  Geological  Survey  which  were  more  systemat- 
ically conducted,  and  extended  over  the  different  seasons 
of  the  year,  thus  making  them  of  some  practical  utility 
for  the  agriculture  of  Colorado.  But  the  case  is  so  en- 
tirely altered  away  down  at  El  Paso,  that  we  have 
practically  no  accurate  observations  to  guide  us  in  our 


Irrigation.  4^1 

examination  here.  This  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  ;  With- 
out these  data  we  can  only  approximately  deal  with  the 
irrigation  problem. 

In  determining  the  amount  of  water  carried  by  any 
particular  stream  which  can  be  utilized  for  irrigating 
purposes,  Powell  has  already  pointed  out  that  this  quan- 
tity is  variable  in  each  stream  from  season  to  season  and 
from  year  to  year.  He  long  ago  pointed  out  that  the 
irrigable  season  is  but  a  portion  of  the  year.  To  utilize 
the  entire  annual  discharge  of  a  river,  it  would  be  neces- 
sary to  hold  the  surplus  flowing  in  the  non-growing  sea- 
son, in  large  reservoirs.  But  as  such  a  disposition  of 
the  waters  of  the  Rio  Grande  will  be  a  matter  of  the 
undetermined  future,  the  question  of  immediate  prac- 
tical importance  is  resolved  into  a  consideration  of  the 
amount  of  water  that  it  will  afford  during  the  irrigating 
season. 

In  May,  June,  and  July  the  volume  of  water  in  the 
pass  near  Eort  Bliss  will  average  300  feet  in  width  and 
five  in  depth,  with  a  velocity  of  live  miles  an  hour ;  in 
August,  September,  and  October  it  will  average  100  feet 
in  width  and  two  and  a  half  to  three  feet  in  depth,  with 
a  velocity  of  two  and  a  half  miles  per  hour.  When 
considered  that  by  the  10th  of  July  the  requirements  of 
irrigation  for  fruits  is  over,  there  will  then  be  more  than 
a  sufficiency  for  the  late  vegetable  and  alfalfa  crops. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  composition  of  the 
&u\\  throughout  the  Rio  Grande  Valley  is  such  that  the 
subsoil  will  hold  water  for  weeks  and  even  months,  and 
gradually  yields  the  absorbed  moisture  to  the  overlying 
soil  by  slow  upward  percolation,  or  capillary  attraction, 
during  the  season  when  the_  growing  crops  require  its 
fertilizing  effects. 

The  foregoing  remarks  are  of  necessity  of  a  merely 
desultory  character.  The  subject  of  irrigation  is  among 
Americans  a  comparatively  new  one,  and  no  great  stock 


48  /'/V  P(tso,    Tcxfis. 

ol'  rt'liablf  data  relatin^^  to  it  has  so  far  been  accumu- 
lated. The  object  of  the  foregoing  article  is  simply  to 
call  attt^ntion  to  tlie  im])ortance  of  the  subject  in  con- 
nection witli  the  settlement  of  the  Rio  Grande  Valley  by 
progressive  and  enlightened  agriculturists — a  settlement 
in  which  El  Paso  and  the  district  of  country  tributary 
to  it  will  always  play  the  leading  role. 


SOCIETY,   LAW  AND   ORDER. 

The  society  in  this  city  is  mixed.  Every  element  is 
represented,  as  well  as  almost  every  State  and  national- 
ity ;  yet  there  is  as  great  a  proportion  of  refined  and 
cultivated  people  here,  in  proportion  to  our  population, 
as  can  be  found  in  any  Western  city. 

We  have  an  excellent  city  and  county  government, 
and  the  laws  are  as  good  and  as  well  enforced  as  in  any 
city  or  county,  excepting  none,  East  or  West.  Life  and 
property  are  as  secure,  values  are  as  well  established 
and  maintained ;  and,  with  the  good  society,  healthy  and 
delightful  climate,  pretty  and  picturesque  country  and 
scenery,  handsome  and  eligible  location  of  the  city  as  to 
drainage,  etc.,  railroad,  telegraph,  and  mail  facilities 
with  all  parts  of  the  world,  educational,  religious,  and 
many  other  advantages  which  will  be  hereafter  men- 
tioned, make  all,  or  nearly  all,  the  conditions  of  life 
here  both  agreeable  and  pleasant.  Kindness,  hospital- 
ity, and  frankness  are  now,  as  always,  traits  of  the 
frontiersman.  In  the  cabin,  the  dug  out,  or  in  the  man- 
sion the  stranger  is  welcomed ;  the  neighbor  finds  a 
neighbor  indeed.  Nowhere  will  immigrants  or  strangers 
of  any  class  find  less  jealousy,  envy,  or  interference 
than  here,  and  nowhere  will  they  find  a  warmer  wel- 
come, kindness,  sympathy,  or  material  assistance.     The 


Northern  Energy — How  AJ/'>  ctcd.  49 

thousands  of  new-comers,  now  citizens,  assure  this,  as- 
sociated as  they  are  in  social,  commercial,  moral,  and 
religious  objects.  In  politics,  where  naturally  lines 
would  be  sharply  drawn,  there  is  absolutely  no  sectional 
distinction,  and  the  county  is  about  equally  divided  be- 
tween the  two  parties.  We  will  give  all  immigrants  a 
hearty  welcome,  and  extend  to  them  full  and  complete 
protection.  We  have  no  prejudices  to  overcome,  for  we 
are  already  cosmopolitan. 


NORTHERN  ENERGY— HOW  AFFECTED. 

One  subject,  that  of  the  effect  of  this  climate  on  North- 
ern energy,  we  thought  we  would  dilate  upon,  but,  on 
reflection,  vnll  only  briefly  allude  to  it.  Most  Northern 
people  believe  that  our  climate  is  oppressively  warm  in 
summer,  and  also  imagine  that  white  persons  cannot 
labor,  or  at  least  do  not ;  that  people  who  reside  in  this 
latitude  have  but  little  energy  or  industry,  and  that  the 
Northern  immigrant  would  soon  lose  his  former  ambition 
and  activity.  Now,  we  have  given  the  temperatures  of 
the  seasons,  which  are  conclusive  as  to  the  moderate 
heat,  and  the  reasons  why  this  climate  invigorates,  in- 
stead of  depresses  ;  and  we  can  confldently  refer  to  the 
native-born  citizens,  and  the  earlier  and  later  immi- 
grants, as  to  continued  sustained  labor  in  the  held,  work- 
shop, or  office.  It  is  true,  we  have  in  the  Mexican 
population  a  class  of  indolent,  shiftless  ])eople  (the 
fault  of  their  Indian  blood),  who  live  and  subsist  easier 
than  they  can  in  the  North,  as  the  soil  produces  easily 
and  the  climate  is  favorable ;  but  the  person  who  has  a 
desire  to  secure  a  home  and  com2)etence  can  work  here 
in  more  comfort,  and  employ  more  days  prolitably,  than 
he  can  anywhere  else. 

4 


50  El  Paso^  Texas. 


SCHOOLS. 

Great  as  are  tlie  manifold  attractions  offered  by  the 
climate,  the  soil,  and  other  physical  advantages  of  El 
Paso  county  and  her  tributary  surroundings,  none  of 
them  equal  the  advantagc.^s  she  will  derive  from  the 
princely  provision  which  the  fathers  of  the  republic 
made  for  the  education  of  the  millions  of  youth  who 
will  in  the  near  future  be  numbered  among  her  popula- 
tion. The  far-sighted  statesmanship  of  those  who  laid 
the  foundation  of  the  "  Lone  Star  "  Republic  provided 
for  the  education  of  generations  yet  unborn,  a  more  gen- 
erous revenue  than  is  enjoyed  by  the  schools  of  any 
State  in  the  American  Union.  Nay,  more  than  this  ;  as 
we  read  the  page  on  which  these  princely  revenues  are 
dedicated  to  education,  we  shall  see  that  neither  Oxford 
nor  Cambridge  have  such  royal  endowments  as  the  sages 
of  Texas  gave  to  the  university  and  schools  of  Texas. 

"  There  is  a  permanent  school  fund  of  §3,500,000.  That 
of  Massachusetts  is  only  two-thirds  as  large.  These 
lands  have  been  set  apart  for  educational  purposes : 

For  a  university 1,221,400  acres. 

County  school  domain 2,833,920     " 

Central  school  domain 50,000,000     " 

Total 54,055,320  acres. 

So  much  for  tlie  permanent  support  of  the  schools. 
Let  us  see  what  provision  is  made  for  their  present 
maintenance,  besides  the  interest  on  the  $3,500,000  Per- 
manent Fund.  This  is  jaelding  an  annual  income  of 
more  than  $200,000,  and  is  increasing  $100,000  a  year 
from  land  sales.  The  Constitution  sets  apart  more  than 
one-fourth  the  general  revenue  of  the  State,  and  $1.00 
poll-tax  for  the  support  of  common  schools.  In  the  year 
1880,  and  since  then,  this  amounted  to  nearly  $2,000,000 
annually.    Besides  this  amount,  there  is  the  interest  on 


Schools.  51 

the  County  School  Fund  of  §550.020.00,  heintr  the  amount 
realized  and  invested  by  those  t-ounties  which  have  sold 
their  lands  in  whole  or  in  part.  In  some  cities  an  addi- 
tional local  tax  is  levied  for  the  sup})ort  of  scliools.  The 
school  lands  of  El  Paso  count}-,  all  of  which  are  unsold, 
and  are  being  held  for  a  better  figure,  are  now  worth 
$75,000.  So  much  for  the  provision  for  schools.  "What 
is  being  done  with  the  money  that  is  available  now? 
Of  course,  in  sparsely  settled  communities  the  inaugura- 
tion of  schools  is  difficult,  and  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
apply  any  strict  system ;  there  must  be  more  or  less 
flexibility.  Free  schools  are  maintained  in  more  than 
160  counties;  these  are  attended  by  more  than  200,000 
children,  and  in  them  are  employed  more  tlian  5.000 
teachers.  The  State  has  also  established  two  normal 
schools.  At  these  schools  the  students  are  both  edu- 
cated and  boarded  free  of  charge.  From  these  a  supply 
of  trained  teachers  is  constantly  going  to  all  portions  of 
the  State.  An  agricultural  college  has  also  been  erected 
by  the  State,  at  a  cost  of  more  than  $200,000,  and  the 
college  has  since  been  endowed  with  1,000,000  acres  of 
land.  Thus  generously  has  Texas  provided  for  the 
education  of  all  classes  of  her  youth.  In  El  Paso  county 
we  have  five  public  schools,  four  of  which,  those  at  Con- 
cordia, Ysleta,  Socorro  and  San  Elzario,  are  maintained 
wholly  by  these  State  endowments. 

In  the  city  of  El  Paso  an  additional  local  tax  is  levied 
for  the  support  of  schools.  A  line  school  building  was 
completed  in  the  autumn  of  1884,  costing  $20,000.  The 
board  of  education  consists  of  the  best  re})rcs('ntative 
men  of  the  city,  and  they  have  made  the  school  an  honor 
to  the  city,  offering  facilities  for  every  grade  of  advance- 
ment, and  no  better  advantages  can  be  found  elsewhere 
for  a  thorough  preparatory  college  education.  Tlie  sys- 
tem of  instruction  and  course  of  study  are  both  up  with 
the  most  approved  and  most  recent  methods  in  operation. 


52  AV  /Usv),    Texas. 

The  corps  of  teachers  i.s  of  tlie  best,  and  is  under  the 
direction  of  a  superintendent  of  experience.  The  sal- 
aries paid  teachers  command  tlie  best  talent  in  the 
profession;  $75  ])er  month  is  the  minimum.  A  printed 
code  of  rules  and  regulations  is  in  fcjrce  which,  in  itself, 
shows  the  interest  taken  and  results  expected. 

If  our  schools  continue  t<j  improve  and  prosper  as  they 
have  begun,  El  Paso  will,  ere  long,  be  renowned  for  her 
educational  advantages  as  she  now  is  for  business  and 
other  enterprises. 


RELIGIOUS  INSTITUTIONS  AND  PRIVILEGES. 

The  people  of  Texas  are  eminently  a  religious  people. 
There  is  no  State  in  the  Union  where  church-going  facili- 
ties are  more  highly  prized,  or  where  a  larger  proportion 
of  citizens  are  members  of  church  organizations  ;  about 
three-quarters  of  a  million  of  her  people  are  recognized 
members  of  religious  denominations ;  and  this  is  fully 
borne  out  in  regard  to  the  city  and  county  of  El  Paso. 
Surely  a  community  In  which  one-third  of  the  popula- 
tion profess  direct  church  affiliations  cannot  be  very 
lawless.  Almost  ever}^  denomination  is  represented  here, 
both  with  churches,  Sunday  schools,  pastors  and  mem- 
bership, in  a  manner  not  excelled  in  any  other  city  or 
county  in  the  United  States,  of  its  age  or  population. 
And  the  immigrant  or  stranger  will  find  here,  outside  of 
the  churches,  a  strong  and  healthy  moral  sentiment, 
guiding  and  controlling  the  community,  and  the  individ- 
ual members  thereof  in  all  their  acts. 


To  the  Invalid.  53 


TO  THE  INVALID. 

This  climate  cannot  be  excelled  for  its  sanitary  quali- 
ties. The  mercuiy  has  rarely  been  noted  below  20° 
above,  and  then  only  for  a  few  hours  at  a  time.  Snows 
seldom  whiten  the  ground,  and  lie  but  a  few  hours. 
Damp,  chilly  days,  and  hot,  sultry  nights  are  unknown. 
The  heat  of  summer  is  not  oppressive,  and  sunstroke 
has  never  been  known.  The  sky  is  clear  the  year  round. 
No  entire  day  has  been  known  when  the  sun  and  stars 
have  not  been  seen.  The  atmosphere  is  unsui-passed  for 
its  dryness  and  purity ;  full  of  electricit}^  it  is  wonder- 
fully exhilarating,  and  never  burdened  with  malarious  or 
poisonous  exhalations.  Blankets  or  cover  of  some  kind 
are  necessary  for  all  on  nights  which  follow  the  hottest 
daj^s,  because  the  nights  are  cool,  though  not  damp. 
Sleeping  with  doors  and  windows  open,  or  in  the  open 
air,  may  be  practiced  with  impunity.  The  asthmatic 
invalid  or  the  consumptive  may  sit  out  of  dooi-s,  ride  or 
walk  in  the  sunshine  350  days  in  the  year  Avith  pleasure 
and  comfort,  and  may  always  enjoy  refreshing  sleep  at 
night;  thus  securing  the  most  essential  conditions  for  the 
restoration  of  a  shattered  nervous  system  and  broken 
constitution. 

Free  and  full  breathing  of  pure  air  is  the  most  import- 
ant for  a  sufferer  from  diseases  of  the  liver  and  lungs. 
Make  such  a  person  breathe,  and  he  will  live  ;  whatever 
makes  him  breathe  faster  makes  his  blood  flow  more 
rapidly,  and  be  better  aerated.  His  appetite  will  in- 
crease, digestion  and  assimilation  will  respond  to  the 
increased  action  of  the  lungs,  which  is  secured  by  the 
elevation  of  this  valley.  Here  one  must  bn^atlu*  more 
fully  and  more  rapidly  than  nearer  tlie  sea  h-vcl.  and  its 
air  is  as  pure  as  any  on  the  face  of  the  earth.     A  perma- 


54  AV  P'iso,   Texas. 

mini  increase  of  breathing  capacity,  caused  by  rarelied  air, 
prevents  the  formation  of  tubercles,  and  often  heals 
those  already  formed.  At  this  elevation  (4,000  feet)  this 
increase  is  not  so  great  as  to  be  injurious,  as  is  some- 
times the  case  at  higher  elevations.  Such  are  some  of 
the  conditions  which  give  to  this  valley  (in  this  locality) 
an  extremely  healthy  and  invigorating  climate,  free  from 
the  malaria  of  the  hot,  damp  regions  of  the  river  beds  [ind 
low  lands  of  the  Southern  States,  and  from  the  mountain 
fevers,  colds,  influenzas,  asthmas  and  consumptions  of 
the  higher  ranges  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  cold, 
fog-bound  regions  of  the  Northern  States.  A  more  desir- 
able climate  cannot  be  found  the  world  over.  Persons 
shut  out  from  the  light  of  the  sun  are  most  disposed  to 
consumption.  For  such,  daily  sunlight  is  everything. 
This  country,  of  which  we  write,  has  more  sunny  days 
than  any  region  of  the  United  States,  probably  more 
than  any  other  place,  and  the  invalid,  therefore,  cannot 
but  enjoy  that  benefit,  unless  he  pui'posely  excludes 
himself  from  it. 

WHAT  PHYSICIANS    SAY. 

Florida  and  Cuba  are  warmer  in  winter,  but  they  have 
an  atmosphere  loaded  with  vapor,  and  winter  is  the 
period  of  the  greatest  rains  and,  consequently,  cloudy 
days.  The  invalid,  seeking  to  regain  health,  will  not  go 
to  them  if  he  follows  the  advice  of  Dr.  Chambers,  in 
his  Lectures  on  the  Renewal  of  Life.  That  eminent  Eng- 
lish physician  says : 

''  In  choosing  a  home  for  a  consumptive,  do  not  mind 
the  average  height  of  the  thermometer,  or  its  variations ; 
do  not  trouble  yourself  about  the  mean  rainfall ;  do  not 
be  scientific  at  all;  but  find  out  by  somebody's  journal 
how  many  days  were  fine  enough  to  go  out  forenoon  and 
afternoon ;  that  is  the  test  you  require ;  and  by  that  you 
may  be  confidently  guided." 


Sanitarium.  55 

Tried  by  such  a  test,  the  invalid  must  locate  here. 
Here  is  no  rank,  rich  vegetation,  saturated  with  moist- 
ure, and  constantly  undergoing  decomposition.  Vegeta- 
tion dries  up — never  rots.  Meat,  stripped  and  hung  in 
the  open  air  and  sun,  in  mid-summer,  will  cure,  and  is 
preserved  without  salt.  Such  air,  when  inhaled,  gives  a 
stimulus  and  vital  force  which  can  only  b'e  given  by  so 
pure  an  atmosphere.  One  having  a  predisposition  to 
consumption  comes  to  this  valley  and  is  immediately 
relieved.  This  altitude  is  not  too  high  for  the  consump- 
tive in  any  stage,  except  in  the  most  extreme  cases. 
And  so  with  any  organic  disease  of  the  heart.  Any  per- 
son with  a  fair  constitution,  who  settles  here,  or  near 
here,  stands  a  better  chance  of  enjoying  a  healthful  life 
and  of  attaining  his  three  score  years  and  ten  than  in 
any  other  part  of  the  Union.  To  the  young  of  consnmp- 
tive  families,  it  offers  special  inducements.  Here  many 
a  brilliant  and  useful  life,  which  might  otherwise  be  lost 
before  reaching  the  meridian  of  manhood,  may  be  pro- 
longed to  a  vigorous  old  age. 

Read  the  report  of  the  committee  of  our  physicians  on 
Sanitarium,  published  below,  upon  wliich  absolute  reli- 
ance can  be  placed. 


SANITARIUM. 


The  influence  of  climatic  conditions  is  an  important 
agent  for  favorably  modifying  the  cause  of  various 
chronic  diseases.  There  are  few  if  any  |nilmonary  affec- 
tions or  other  chronic  maladies  which  may  not  be  cither 
cured,  suspended  in  tfieir  course,  or  relieved  by  the  in- 
fluence of  judiciously  selected  climate.     From  the  failure 


.")()  EL  P((.so,  Texas. 

of  tlio  luatcriji  iiicdica  to  cope  with  this  disease,  attention 
has  been  diawn  to  the  modifying  influence  of  climate 
ni)()n  clironic  pulmonary  disorders.  The  conditions  of 
st)il  and  atmospliere  favorable  to  the  development  of 
phthisis  pulmonalis  are  well  known.  Damp,  ill-drained 
I'lnd,  cold,  humid  air,  sudden  changes  of  temperature, 
lack  of  sunlight,  anti-hygienic  surroundings  —  all  con- 
tribute to  depress  the  general  health  and  to  occasion  the 
fearful  prevalence  of  consumption  in  low-lying  districts 
and  in  large  cities.  It  is  therefore  evident  that  in  the 
search  for  a  climate  for  the  prevention  and  cure  for  con- 
sumption, dryness  of  air  and  soil  and  the  invigorating 
influences  of  sunlight  must  be  substituted  for  the  delete- 
rious conditions  of  ground  and  atmosphere  mentioned 
above. 

That  climate  is  a  potent  agent  in  the  prevention  of 
phthisis  pulmonalis  is  demonstrated  by  the  fact  that  a 
region  of  comparative  immunity  from  the  disease  is  found 
in  high  altitudes.  It  is  therefore  proposed  to  elucidate 
some  of  the  different  factors  which  tend  materially  to 
modify  and  counteract  the  effect  of  diseases  in  this  cli- 
mate, and  the  invalid  tourist  and  immigrant  cannot  but 
see  the  extraordinary  advantages  to  be  derived  by  set- 
tlement in  our  midst. 

The  latitude  and  longitude  having  been  given  hereto- 
fore, it  is  found  that  the  elevation  of  El  Paso,  the  county 
seat  of  El  Paso  County,  is  near  4,000  feet,  in  round  num- 
bers, above  sea  level,  and  consists  of  an  alluvial  sandy 
deposit,  exceedingly  porous,  and  possesses  a  great  fac- 
ulty of  absorbing  water  and  moisture.  Small  and  large 
ponds  and  marshes  are  notably  absent ;  hence  the  fact, 
in  view  of  the  altitude,  that  so  little  malaria  or  malarial 
fevers  are  seen  or  known  to  complicate  the  ordinary  pre- 
vailing complaints  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  valley. 

The  river  water  is  muddy,  but  sittles  readily,  yielding 
a  pure  and  potable  supply  for  every  use.     Wells  are 


Sanitarium.  57 

driven  with  but  little  difficulty,  and  water  clear  as  crys- 
tal is  secured  anywhere  from  seven  to  fifteen  feet. 

The  physical  conformation  of  land  beyond  the  valley 
is  diversified,  being  rolling  mesas,  brolvcn  foot-hills,  and 
X)icturesque  mountains.  With  the  exce^jtion  of  the  jiass, 
El  Paso  is  protected  closely  on  the  west,  north  and  south 
by  a  main  spur  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  a  slightly 
elevated  plateau  is  on  the  east  side,  extending  some 
sixty  or  seventy  miles. 

Owing  to  the  exceedingly  great  porosity  of  the  soil, 
humidity  of  the  atmosphere  is  very  insignificant,  even 
after  a  considerable  rainfall.  The  soil  receives  much  of 
its  moisture  from  below  the  surface,  and  in  this  way  sup- 
plies, in  a  great  measure,  its  needs  in  the  growth  of  tim- 
ber, grasses  and  vegetation.  The  paludial  emanations 
of  the  soil,  with  little  or  no  marshy  lands  or  standing 
water,  is  so  slight  that  the  ordinary  effects  of  malarial 
poisoning  are  rarely  ever  observed  in  pne  who  has  re- 
sided here  any  length  of  time. 

It  has  been  claimed  that  five  or  six  thousand  feet 
elevation  furnishes  an  atmosphere  superior  to  that  of  a 
higher  or  lower  altitude,  but  such  is  not  the  case,  for 
there  are  many  conditions  of  the  atmosphere,  per  se, 
such  as  degrees  of  moisture  and  dryness,  temperature, 
relative  velocity  and  general  direction  of  wind,  the  nat- 
ural surroundings,  all  make  up  the  general  salubiious- 
ness  of  the  climate  and  better  lit  it  for  the  invalid  and 
consumptive.  Other  reasons  why  too  great  elevations 
above  sea  level  should  be  avoided,  is  because  of  the  too 
great  aptitude  to  passive  congestion  of  the  lungs  and 
heart,  mountain  fevers,  cold,  raw  winds,  inability  too 
often  of  securing  a  sufficient  variety  of  food  and  the 
ordinary  comforts  of  a  home  life  that  may  be  had  at 
lower  altitudes.  Altitude  has  a  specially  notable  effect, 
inasmuch  as  there  is  a  general  increase  in  tho  l)ulk  of 
the  lungs  and  an  (enlargement  of  the  chest  of  inhabitants 


58  AV  /V/.s7>,    yVvrr/.v. 

of  elevated  H'gions.  It  also  produces  large  dimensions 
of  the  air  cells,  enabling  a  freer  discharge  of  accumulat- 
ing secretions,  ixTtnittiiig  largpr  influx  of  pure  air, 
exercising  a  strongly  antagonistic  and  germicidal  in- 
fluence, and  rendering  the  lungs  increasingly  inapt  to 
take  on  a  tubercularizing  action.  With  the  rise  above 
the  sea  level  the  air  becomes  rarefled  and  the  atmospheric 
pressure  is  considerably  diminished.  At  the  height  of 
4,000  feet  the  atmospheric  pressure  is  about  thirteen  and 
a  half  instead  of  fifteen  pounds  to  the  square  inch,  and 
the  proportion  of  oxygen  is  diminished  twelve  per  cent. 
This  attenuation  of  the  air  producBS  important  changes 
in  the  economy. 

The  mechanical  effect  of  the  rarefied  air  is  to  increase 
the  frequency  and  depth  of  respiration  and  to  accelerate 
the  pulse.  A  greater  amount  of  air  must  be  inhaled  to 
satisfy  the  demand  for  oxygen.  Hence  the  lungs  have  a 
tendency  to  be  cqmpletely  filled,  the  elastic  tissue  of  the 
vesicles  is  stretched  and  the  thorax  is  expanded  to  its 
fullest  capacity.  At  moderate  elevations  the  system 
quickly  adapts  itself  to  the  lessened  atmospheric  pres- 
sure, but  when  great  heights  are  rapidly  attained,  as 
with  aeronauts,  copious  hemorrhages  from  the  lungs 
ensue.  In  the  altitude  of  Denver  haemoptysis  frequentlj" 
occurs  in  consumptives  in  the  stage  of  excavation. 

Br.  Denison  says :  "  The  lessened  tension  of  the  air, 
and  the  increased  frequency  of  respiration,  force  the 
blood  to  pass  more  quickly  through  the  lungs,  and  the 
rapid  and  perfect  renewal  of  capillary  circulation  is 
opposed  to  the  stages  of  early  and  chronic  intiammation. 
This  improved  capillary  circulation,  together  with  a 
more  perfect  expansion  of  the  thorax,  loosens  and  pro- 
motes the  expectoration  of  the  mucus  and  inflammator}- 

It  has  been  so  often  demonstrated  beyond  the  possi- 
bility of  a  doubt,  that  the  combined  conditions  making 


Sanitarium.  59 

up  the  climate  of  high  altitudes  do  favorably  modify  the 
causes  and  course  of  phthisis  that  the  popular  faith  in 
this  "mountain  cure"  is  almost  unbounded  by  both  the 
lay  and  professional.  El  Paso  offers  many  superior 
advantages  to  the  invalid  and  pleasure  seeker,  by  rea- 
son of  its  well  sheltered  position  from  winds  by  its 
mountain  ranges  and  terraced  hills  on  the  north  and 
west,  a  slightly  higher  mean  temperature  and  in  a 
notably  less  lower  extreme  range  of  this — absence  of 
the  essential  elements  of  volatized  poisonous  organic 
matter  and  mechanically  irritant  particles,  the  uniformly 
mild,  dry  air,  which  is  bracing  and  exhilarating;  so 
many  bright,  clear,  soft  balmy  days,  never  foggy,  light 
or  little  dews  at  night,  rarely  ice  in  winter,  and  more 
rarely  visited  by  snow.  Equableness  of  temperature  is 
the  rule;  sudden  changes  are  comparatively  rare;  well 
provided  with  hotel  and  other  accommodations,  attractive 
in  itself,  its  mountain  scenery,  its  singular  mixture  of 
American  push  and  Mexican  indolence,  mostly  cosmo- 
politan, markets  having  an  abundant  supply  of  every 
variety,  with  a  quality  of  food  all  that  can  be  desired. 

Those  ill-defined  conditions  included  under  the  vague 
title  of  delicacy  of  chest,  may  be  completely  removed  by 
residence  in  El  Paso,  as  likewise  the  tendency  to  winter 
attacks  of  bronchitis,  chronic  bronchitis  in  all  varieties, 
cirrhosis  of  the  lungs,  asthma,  emphysema,  hay  fever 
and  chronic  pneumonia,  are  always  relieved,  more  often 
cured,  and  the  disposition  to  recurring  attacks  of 
haemoptysis  effectually  controlled. 

Statistics  afford  us  no  guide  yet  to  the  rate  and  cause 
of  deaths  among  the  native  population,  still  it  is  a  nota- 
ble fact  to  a  close  observer,  that  pulmonary  troubles 
affect  them  to  a  very  limited  extent,  the  writer  having 
failed  to  find  a  case  of  consumption  developed  in  tliis 
climate  after  nearly  five  year's  residence.  The  same  is 
true  with  regard  to  t)tlier  diseases;  that    there  are  frw 


60 


AV  r<ts<>,   Trxas. 


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CO  ^  CO  >o  I-  o  CO  id>. 


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Food. — Accommodations.  61 

cases,  most  all  of  whicli  recover,  viz.,  typhoid  fever, 
intlammatory  rheumatism,  sunstroke,  liydropliobia,  etc. 
Children's  diseases  are  not  so  varied,  and  less  severe  than 
in  lower  altitudes.  Diphtheria  very  rare  ;  no  case  seen  in 
El  Paso  in  the  last  four  (4)  years ;  scarlatina  rare  and  of 
a  mild  type,  seldom,  if  ever  fatal ;  never  produces  any 
of  those  ravages  and  after-effects  so  common  in  the 
East.  The  advaiitage  of  El  Paso  for  pulmonary  con- 
sumption in  its  incipient  stages,  and  many  other  dreaded 
fatal  diseases,  has  been  too  recently  ap})reciated  to 
allow  extended  statistics  to  be  presented  as  to  its  benelits. 
A  meterological  report  for  the  year  1884,  for  El  Paso, 
is  herewith  submitted  (on  opposite  page)  as  an  exhibit 
of  the  excellent  climatic  condition  of  this  altitude. 


FOOD. 

As  .to  food,  the  locality,  together  with  the  means  of 
quick  and  preservative  transportation,  places  at  com- 
mand everything,  from  the  local  abundant  supply  of 
fresh  vegetables  and  fruits,  including  the  delicious 
grapes  of  the  country,  with  the  grape  wines  equalling 
any  in  the  world,  to  the  northern  products  of  the  United 
States,  and  the  numerous  tropical  productions  of  Mexico. 
The  markets  afford  articles  to  meet  every  requirement  of 
necessity  or  fancy. 


ACCOMMODATIONS. 

Accommodations  as  to  home  and  family  supplies,  and 
rooms  and  board  at  the  best  managed  hotels  and  private 
boarding  houses,  are  commensurate  with  every  demand 
made  by  the  permanent  resident  or  the  transient  so- 
journer.    Rates  are  reasonable. 


{')2  El  Paso,  Texas. 


HOW  LAND  TITLES  ORIGINATE— PRICE,  ETC. 

As  already  stated,  Texas  reserved  by  the  treaty  of  an- 
nexation all  her  ])iil)lic  domain,  amounting  to  171,967,- 
0(50  acres.  Thus  it  was  that  while  she  was  the  youngest 
of  States  she  was  the  most  wealthy.  Prom  the  earliest 
days  of  the  republic  it  has  ever  been  the  policy  of  Texas 
to  use  her  public  lands  for  the  encouragement  of  im- 
migration, endowment  of  her  school  fund  and  the  build- 
ing of  internal  improvements  in  the  State. 

Each  county  has  a  local  land  office,  with  a  surveyor, 
who  is  a  bonded  officer  of  the  State.  He  keeps  an  accu- 
rate map  of  every  survey  ever  made  in  his  county,  and  a 
book  in  which  every  set  of  field  notes  is  duly  re- 
corded, and  patents  (titles)  to  public  lands  come  directly 
from  the  State.  A  portion  of  the  county,  perhaps  one- 
third,  belongs  to  the  railroads,  one-third  to  the  State,  and 
one-third  to  private  owners,  from  all  of  whom  good  titles 
can  be  procured.  Unimproved  agricultural  lands  can  be 
had,  in  any  quantity,  for  from  one  dollar  to  five  dollars 
per  acre,  according  to  location  and  advantages.  Grazing 
lands  from  one  to  two  dollars  per  acre.  Lots  in  the  city 
of  El  Paso  from  twenty -five  to  five  hundred  dollars  for 
residences,  and  for  business  from  ten  dollars  to  one  hun- 
dred dollars  per  front  foot,  according  to  advantages. 

Titles  are  good.  Nearly  all  controversies  concerning 
titles  have  been  settled  by  compromise  or  b}^  the  courts. 
Homesteads  may  be  acquired  wherever  anj'  vacant  lands 
can  be  found,  ahd  each  head  of  a  family'  is  entitled  to 
160  acres,  by  occupying  and  improving  the  same  for 
three  consecutive  years.  The  laws  of  the  State  are  sim- 
ilar to  those  of  most  of  the  advanced  States  of  the  Union. 
They  give  ample  and  full  protection  to  life  and  property, 
and  are  rigidly  enforced.     The  largest  liberty  of  speech 


Laws  of  Texas.  63 

and  thouglit  is  here  encouraged  and  guaranteed ;  no  pro- 
scription in  religion  or  politics  is  tolerated;  every  right 
and  privilege  is  closely  guarded  in  the  laws.  All  forms 
of  religious  worship  may  be  j)i'acticed,  and  every  shade 
of  politics  is  entertained  among  our  peox)le.  The  two 
political  parties  are  very  ecpuilly  represented  by  our 
population,  and  it  is  a  question  which  has  the  ascend- 
ancy. 


LAWS  OF  TEXAS  OF  GENERAL  INTEREST  TO 
IMMIGRANTS. 

The  homestead  of  a  family,  not  to  exceed  200  acres 
(not  in  any  city  or  town),  or  town  or  city  lot  or  lots,  not 
to  exceed  $5,000  in  value,  exclusive  of  improvements  at 
the  lime  of  their  designation  as  a  homestead,  shall  not 
be  subject  to  forced  sale  for  debts,  except  for  taxes  or 
for  labor  or  material  expended  thereon.  The  owner,  if  a 
married  man,  cannot  alienate  the  homestead  without  tlic 
consent  of  the  wife. 

PERSONAL  PROPERTY  EXEMPT. 

All  household  and  kitchen  furniture  ;  all  improvements 
of  husbandry;  all  tools  and  ajjparatus  pertaining  to  any 
trade  or  profession,  and  all  books  belonging  to  public 
or  private  libraries  ;  five  milk  cows  and  calves,  two  yokes 
of  work  oxen  ;  two  horses  and  one  wagon  ;  one  carriage 
or  buggy;  one  gun,  twenty  hogs,  twenty  head  of  slieep; 
all  necessary  jirovisions  and  forage  on  liand  for  the  use 
of  the  family.  And  for  every  citizen  not  the  head  of 
a  family,  one  hoi'se,  saddle  and  bridle;  all  wearing  ap- 
parel, all  tools,  apparatus,  and  l)ooks  belonging  to  his 
private  library. 


64  El  Pcuso,   Texas. 


jiomp:steadr  and  prp:-emptioxs. 

Every  head  of  a  family  wlio  lias  not  a  homestead  shall 
bo  entitled  to  IGO  acres  of  land,  as  a  homestead,  out  of 
any  part  of  the  public  domain  not  included  in  any  lail- 
I'oad  reservation,  or  in  any  State  section  of  land  surveyed 
by  virtue  of  any  railroad  land  certificate,  nor  upon  any 
island;  upon  condition  that  he  or  she  select,  locate 
and  occupy  the  same  for  three  years,  and  pay  the  office 
fees  on  the  same.  Any  single  man,  twenty-one  years 
of  age,  is  entitled  to  80  acres  upon  the  same  terms. 

Any  person  who,  in  good  faith,  actually  settles  upon 
any  part  of  the  public  domain,  not  exceeding  160  acres, 
and  furnishes  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land 
Office  satisfactory  evidence  that  he  or  she  has,  in  good 
faith,  settled  upon  said  land,  shall  be  entitled  to  pur- 
chase the  same  from  the  State  at  one  dollar  per  acre. 


MARITAL  RIGHTS. 

All  property,  both  real  and  personal,  owned  by  hus- 
band and  wife  before  marriage,  remains  the  separate 
property  of  such  owner,  and  such  property  as  is 
acquired  after  marriage,  by  gift,  devise  or  descent, 
becomes  and  remains  the  separate  property  to  whom 
given,  devised  or  descended.  The  homestead,  or  sepa- 
rate property,  cannot  be  sold  unless  the  wife  joins  in  the 
conveyance. 

All  property  acquired  by  either  the  husband  or  wife 
after  marriage,  except  as  above,  is  the  common  property 
of  both.  At  the  death  of  one  j^arty  the  survivor  takes 
all,  if  there  are  no  children ;  if  children,  th6  survivor 
takes  one-half,  the  children  the  other. 


Secret  Societies  65 


SECRET  SOCIETIES. 

The  city  of  El  Paso  is  well  represented  in  tlie  secret 
societies  and  organizations.  The  Masonic  fraternity, 
particularly,  are  in  possession  of  one  of  the  best  fur- 
nished halls  in  the  Southwest,  the  entire  third  story  of 
the  Mundy  building. 

Besides  the  following  named  societies,  the  founding  of 
Knights  of  Pythias,  order  of  the  "  Eastern  Star,"  Chosen 
Friends,  and  a  post  of  "  G.  A.  R."  is  in  contemplation. 

For  the  benefit  of  members  of  those  organizations  into 
whose  hands  this  pamphlet  may  fall,  we  will  give  the 
names  of  the  presiding  officers  and  secretaries  of  the 
lodges  here,  so  that  they  may  correspond  or  communicate 
with  them  should  they  desire  to  do  so. 

El  Paso  Lodge  of  Perfection,  No.  5,  A.-.  A.-.  S.-. 
R.-.— S.  W.  Boring,  32°  V.  M. ;  Henry  Berliner,  32° 
Secretary. 

El  Paso  Chapter  Rose  Croix,  No.  4,  A.*.  A.-.  fc>.-.  R.-. 
—Charles  B.  Patrick,  32°  W.  M. ;  Henry  Berliner,  32° 
Sec'y. 

El  Paso  Commandery  Knights  Templar,  No.  18. 
— Charles  Davis,  Eminent  Commander;  T.  L.  Ennis, 
Recorder. 

El  Paso  Chapter  Royal  Arch  Masons,  No.  157. — S. 
W.  Boring,'M.  E.  H.  P. ;  Henry  Berliner,  Secretary. 

El  Paso  Lodge,  No.  130,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.— R.  C. 
Lightbody,  W.  M. ;  H.  L.  Bingham,  Secretary. 

5 


(5(J  El  Paso,  Texas. 

El  Paso  Lodgk,  No.  284,  J.  O.  O.  F.— C.  E.  Fruiii,  N. 
G. ;  n.  L.  Capell,  Recording  Secretary. 

El  Paso  Lodge,  No.  2884,  Kxiqiits  of  Honor. — Chas. 
F.  Slack,  Director;  A.  Kaplan,  Recorder. 

Rio  Grande  Lodge  Knights  and  Ladies  of  Honor, 
No.  DIG. — Charles  C.  Kiefer,  Protector;  John  S.  Kierski, 
Secretary. 

Order  Railroad  Conductors. — D.  F.  Rimmer,  C.  C. ; 
F.  A.  Taylor,  S.  and  T. 

New  Year  Lodge,  No.  135,  B.  of  L.  F. — C.  McArthur, 
Secretary. 

Besides  the  above  societies,  the  founding  of  a  Knights 
of  Pythias  Lodge,  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star,  Chosen 
Friends,  and  a  Post  of  G.  A.  R.  is  contemplated. 


Assessed  Valuation  of  El  Paso  County.  67 


ASSESSED  VALUATION  EL  PASO   COUNTY, 
Year  1884. 

Real  estate  improvements,  city  of  El  Paso — 

Mills'  map  $1,255,889 

Morehead's  addition 78,345 

Satterthwaite's  addition 65,600 

Magoffin's  addition 89,820 

Campbell's  addition  627,897 

Cotton's  addition 40,400 

Bassett's  addition 10,400 

Alexander's    6,175 

Hart's    61,050 

$2,235,576 

County  real  estate  and  improvements  outside  of  city 1,378,329 

Total  real  estate    $3,613,905 

Railroads   1,888,481 

Telegrai)h 15,900 

Personal  property  in  city  and  county — 

33  jacks  and  jennies 342 

336  hogs 1,448 

1 ,379  horses  and  mules 42,405 

8,574  cattle  142,784 

3,200  sheep 8,029 

1,588  goats 2,291 

347  carriages  and  wagons 32,339 

Machinery,  tools,  implements,  etc 76,100 

Goods,  wares,  and  merchandise 481 ,000 

Money  on  hand 33,650 

Credits    63,228 

Miscellaneous    236,888 

1,120,514 

Total  vuhiation   $6,638,800 


68 


El  Paso,  Texas. 


AVERAGE  TEMPERATURE,  Etc. 


January,      1884. 

February, 

March, 

AV)ril, 

May, 

June, 

July, 

August. 

September, 

October, 

November, 

December, 

January,  1885. 

February,  "    . 

March,        "    . 

April,  "    . 


Average 
Temperature 


39.9 
50.6 
54.5 
59.0 
69.0 
78.4 
85.5 
79.6 
72.7 
62.6 
51.5 
46.9 
41.7 
49.9 
56.6 
63.6 


Rainfall. 


.55 

.84 
.33 
.91 

» 

.11 
.46 
!.U8 
!.98 
i.15 
.22 
!.07 
.12 
.03 
.34 
.04 


No.  of 
Cloudy  Days. 


3 
2 
3 
1 
2 
2 
4 
10 
5 
8 
2 
7 
2 
1 
6 
4 


Too  small  to  measure. 


The  following  is  taken  from  the  report  of  the  Chief 
Signal  Officer  of  the  Army  for  the  12  months  ending 
June  30,  1883 : 

El  Paso,  total  No.  of  cloudy  days  for  12  months  (year  1882) 30 

Denver,  Colo.,  "  "         "      "     "        "  '"        "      33 

El  Paso,  total  No.of  cloudy  days  for  6  months  ending  June  30, 1883. ..  17 
Denver,  Colo.,  "  "         "      ""      "  "  "     "      "    ...36 


Importations. 


69 


IMPORTATIONS 

Made   through   the   El   Paso   Custom  House  from 
January  1,  1881,  to  December  31,  1884. 


Date. 

Free 
Goods. 

Annual 
Increase. 

1 

Dutiable 
Goods. 

Annual 
Increase. 

1881  

1882 

5;  3,920 

10,626 

638,045 

821,394 

$6,706 
627,419 
183,349 

$83,666 
185,098 
250,485 
374,522 

$101,432 

1883 

1884 

65,387 
124,037 

Totals 

1,473,985 

893,771 

Recapitul.\tion  : 

Total  free  goods $1,473,986 

Total  dutiable  goods 803.771 

Total  importations,  all  classes $2,367,756 


70 


El  Pcvio^  Texas. 


TABLE    OF    DISTANCES 


From  El  Paso,  Tex.,  to 


Miles 

Abilene,  Tex 455 

Albuquer(]ue,  N.  M 255 

Aguas  Calientes,  Mex 860 

Atlanta,  Ga 1,598 

Austin,  Tex 879 

Baton  Rouge,  La 1,074 

Benson,  Arizona  262 

Big  Springs,  Tex 347 

Calera,  Mex 767 

Camp  Rice,  Tex 53 

Celaya,  Mex '. 1,042 

Chicago 1,639 

Chihuahua,  Mex 225 

Colorado,  Tex 386 

Colorado  Springs,  Col 711 

Coltoif,  Cal 746 

Dallas,  Tex 648 

Deming,  N.  Mex 88 

Denver,  Col 786 

Emporia,  Kan 1,045 

Fort  Worth,  Tex 616 

Galveston    963 

Hot  Springs,  Ark 997 

Houston,  Tex 848 

Jimulco,  Mex 562 

Kansas  City,  Mo 1,173 

La  Junta,  Colo 602 

Lamy,  N.  Mex 322 

Las  Cruces,  N.  Mex 44 

Las  Vegas,  N.  Mex 387 

Leon,  Mex 965 


Miles 

Lerdo,  Mex 515 

Lordsburgh,  N.  Mex 148 

Los  Angeles,  Cal 804 

Marshall,  Tex 795 

Mexico  City 1,224 

Montezuma,  Mex 112 

New  Orleans 1,163 

New  York 2,410 

Pueblo,  Col 666 

Queretaro,  Mex 1,071 

Raton,  N.  Mex 498 

Rincon,  N.  Mex 77 

San  Antonio,  Tex 632 

San  Elizario,  Tex 21 

San  Francisco,  Cal 1,286 

San  Juan  del  Rio,  Mex 1,105 

San  Marcial,  N.  Mex 152 

Shreveport,  La 835 

Sierra  Blanca,  Tex 92 

Silao,  Mex 986 

St.  Louis,  Mo 1,359 

Topeka,  Kan 1,107 

Toyah,  Tex  194 

Trinidad,  Col 521 

Tucson,  Arizona 308 

Washington,  D.  C 2,239 

Ysleta,  Tex 12 

Yuma,  Arizona 555 

Zacatecas,  Mex 785 

Zeminez,  Mex 371 


Class  of  Immigrants  Wanted.  71 


CLASS  OF  BrMIGRANTS  WANTED. 

We  want  population  from  every  State  in  the  Union, 
and  from  every  country  in  Europe.  We  want  the  thrifty 
and  industrious,  with  a  few  hundred  or  a  few  thousand 
dollars,  to  join  us  in  occupying  and  building  up  the  va- 
cant places  in  our  favored  country,  that  they  may  secure 
pleasant  homes  for  tliemselves  and  their  families.  We 
want  them  to  identify  themselves  with  our  present  pop- 
ulation, and  enjoy  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the 
native  born,  which  the  laws  of  the  State  fully  guarantee 
to  them.  We  need  population.  We  want  immigrants 
of  kindred  races,  that  we  may  be  a  homogeneous  people. 
We  are  all  immigrants  or  their  descendants.  We  give 
immigration  credit  for  all  we  are  or  hope  to  become. 
We  want  especially  persons  skilled  in  farming,  garden- 
ing and  fruit  growing.  We  want  stock  raisers,  ;^os- 
pectors,  miners,  capitalists  and  manufacturers.  We 
want  capital  to  develop  our  unbounded  resources,  and 
take  advantage  of  the  many  opportunities  for  profitable 
investment.  We  want  iiiiinigrants  wlio  will  bring  along 
with  them  sufficient  means  and  energy  to  enter  upon 
business  for  themselves,  to  buy  our  cheap  lands,  become 
permanent  residents,  practical  frnit  growers  and  success- 
ful agriculturists,  or  who  will  follow  some  mechanical 
or  manufacturing  occupation.  We  want  settlers  who 
will  rely  on  their  own  exertions  and  means.  To  such  we 
say.  Come;  and  if  you  have  fair  staying  qualities  your 
reward  is  sure. 


72  El  Paso^   TexiVi. 


FEMALE  DOMESTICS 

Are  in  great  demand  here,  and  we  have  no  doubt  that 
from  lifty  to  one  hundred  good  girls,  or  women,  could 
at  once  obtain  employment  at  wages  ranging  from  fifteen 
to  twenty-live  dollars  per  month.  This  is  entirely  within 
bounds,  and  it  is  probable  that  a  much  larg«3r  number 
might  obtain  employment ;  and  the  demand  will  continue 
and  increase  from  year  to  year.  We  would  advise  good 
domestics  to  come  here.  They  will  find  this  a  most  de- 
sirable place  to  cast  their  lot.  The  opportunities  for 
good  females  of  this  class  to  make  desirable  settlements 
in  life  are  excellent. 


CONCLUSION. 


In  conclusion,  we  desire  to  say  that  it  has  here  been 
our  aim  to  give  information  concerning  the  geographical 
position  and  character  of  El  Paso  City  and  County,  and 
the  superior  natural  advantages  which  they  possess,  and 
which  she  offers  with  extended  arms,  open  to  receive  and 
embrace  in  welcome  all  who  may  choose  to  cast  their  lot 
with  ours. 

First.  For  the  peculiarly  charming  climate,  free  as  it 
is  from  all  and  every  epidemic ;  mild,  yet  invigorating, 
and  singularly  pure,  pleasant  and  salubrious  ;  where 
the  yellow  fever  and  cholera  germs  cannot  exist ;  where 
sun-stroke  is  unknown  ;  where  a  refreshing  sleep  can 
always  be  had ;  a  perfect  sanitarium,  in  fact,  unsurpassed 
by  any,  probably,  in  the  world. 


Conclusion.  7b 

Second.     For  lier  vast  grazing  domain,  which  is  iinsiir 
passed,  as  we  have  shown,  by  any  on  the  continent. 

Third.  For  her  millions  of  tons  of  hidden  treasure  in 
the  shape  of  gold,  silver,  lead,  copper  and  coal,  which 
lie  buried  withii.  the  bosom  of  her  majestic  mountains. 

Fourth.  For  her  large  bodies  of  agricultural  lands, 
lying  in  one  of  the  most  fertile  and  beautiful  valleys  in 
the  world,  with  so  many  attractions  and  advantages  for 
the  settler;  witli  comparatively  so  few  obstacles  to  over- 
come and  hardships  to  endure,  and  with  the  many  pleas- 
ant and  easy  conditions  of  life,  so  few  dangers  and  priva- 
tions incident  to  life  on  or  near  the  frontier. 

Fifth.  For  the  commercial  advantages  possessed  by 
the  cit}^,  the  great  metropolis  of  this  whole  country,  as 
has  been  shown,  and  to  which  we  again  invite  atten- 
tion. 

We  repeat,  that  no  portion  of  our  country  offers 
greater  inducements  than  this  of  which  we  have  written, 
and  of  which  far  more  might  well  be  said.  If  we  have 
failed  to  bring  to  light,  or  if  we  have  misrepresented  in 
any  way,  the  advantages  our  situation  offers,  in  the  fore- 
going pages,  it  has  been  the  fault  of  the  head  and  not  of 
the  heart.  And  here  we  leave  the  subject,  to  Tx'  renewed 
at  an  early  day,  we  trust,  by  a  more  able  but  not  less 
impartial  pen  than  ours. 


74  AV  yv^s7^   Texas. 


THE  MEXICAN  CENTRAL  RAILWAY 


extends  from  El  Paso,  Texas,  to  the  City  of  Mexico, 
traveisin<i:  for  over  twelve  hundred  miles  a  vast  elevated 
2)lateau  or  table  land,  rich  with  grazing  and  agricultural 
lands  and  abounding  in  mountains  full  of  silver,  iron, 
jind  other  metals.  The  largest  and  most  flourishing  cities 
of  the  Republic  are  situated  on  the  line  of  this  great 
iron  highway :  Chihuahua,  Santa  Rosalia,  Zeminez, 
Lerdo,  Fresnillo,  Zacatecas,  Aguas  Calientes,  Lagos, 
Lerdo,  Silao,  Guanajuato,  Irapuato,  Celaya,  Salamanca, 
Queretaro,  San  Juan  del  Rio,  Tula,  and  the  City  of  Mex- 
ico. 

Durango,  Guadalajara,  San  Luis  Potosi,  Saltillo,  Pa- 
chuca,  Morelia,  and  numerous  other  prominent  cities  are 
reached  by  stage  and  w^agon,  from  points  on  the  line  of 
the  Mexican  Central.  A  great  part  of  the  territory  trav- 
ersed by  this  line  enjoys  the  climate  of  the  temperate 
zone.  Extremes  in  temperature  are  almost  unknown. 
A  delightful  coolness  prevails  in  the  shade.  The  nights 
are  cool.  Life  and  travel  on  the  table  land  are  equally 
agreeable,  summer  or  winter. 


MINERAL  RESOURCES. 

Famous,  from  the  days  of  the  conquest  down  to  the 
present  time,  have  been  the  mineral  treasures  hidden  in 
the  hills  of  Mexico.  The  dreams  of  adventurers  are 
conflrmed  by  the  tests  of  modern  science.  Mexico  is 
the  richest  country  in  the  w^orld  in  mineral  resources. 
All  the  prominent  metals  have  been  found  in  large  quan- 


Tlie  Mexican  Central  Railway.  75 

titles,  though  as  yet  the  search  has- been  limited  to  the 
localities  most  easily  accessible.  A  great  deal  of  silver 
has  been  mined  in  Mexico,  but  there  is  good  reason  to 
believe  that,  notwithstanding  Mexico  has  long  been  the 
great  silver  x)roducing  country  of  the  world,  the  greater 
portion  of  her  wealth  remains  undiscovered.  It  is  un- 
doubtedly true,  also,  that  the  country  cannot  long  remain 
unexplored.  The  gates  have  been  unlocked  and  tlirown 
wide  open.  The  average  Western  American  is  the  un- 
daunted explorer  of  modern  times.  There  is,  since  the 
completion  of  the  Mexican  Central  Railway  and  the  in- 
troduction of  modern  mining  nuichinery,  no  obstacle  to 
his  investigations  in  Mexico.  The  known  existence  of 
the  precious  metals  in  all  the  nooks  and  corners  of  a 
land  of  mountains,  encourages  a  thorough  investigation 
of  the  fastnesses  and  byways  of  the  Republic. 

Mexico's  production  of  the  precious  metals  is  a  sub- 
ject which  would  require  a  volume,  and  can  be  only 
touched  upon  here.  The  mineral  districts  most  distin- 
guished for  the  production  of  silver  and  gold  are  those 
of  Guanajuato,  Zacatecas,  Fresnillo,  Chihuahua,  and 
Durango,  all  reached  via  the  Mexican  Central.  The  dis- 
tricts of  Guanajuato  and  Zacatecas  form  two  groups, 
important  for  their  numerous  and  industrious  popula- 
tion. These  districts,  together  with  Chihuahua  and  Du- 
rango, abound  not  only  in  the  precious  metals,  bur  in 
copper,  iron,  lead,  zinc  and  tin. 

Near  the  city  of  Durango  is  the  Cerro  de  Mcrcado,  a 
mountain  3,600  feet  long  by  1,100  feet  wide — an  aica  of 
90  acres — and  040  feet  high,  containing  the  most  rtMuark- 
able  deposit  of  iron  in  the  world.  It  contains  nearly 
200,000,000  tons  of  iron  ore,  of  remarkable  purity. 

There  are  larger  deposits  of  iron  oi'e  near  Leon,  and  at 
the  iion  works  near  by  some  of  the  largest  and  ilnest 
ornamental  castings  in  the  world  hav(>  been  produced. 

Mexico's  mineral  wealth  undoubtedly  lies  in  her  vast 


70  AV  Paso,    Texas. 

deposits  of  silver.  Native  silver  has  been  found  in  con- 
siderable masses,  sometimes  weigliing  more  than  200 
kil()<:;ninis,  in  tlie  mines  of  l)atoi)il<)S.  It  is  frequently 
found  in  certain  districts  of  Chihuahua,  Guanajuato,  and 
Zacatecas. 

PRINCIPAL    SILVER   DISTRICTS. 

Chihuahua  :  Batopilas,  Batuchique,  Candamena,  Cusi- 
huiriachic,  Guadalupe  y  Calvo,  Guadalupe  de  los  Keyes, 
Jesus  Maria,  Morelos,  Parral,  Santa  Eulalia,  Toquimbo, 
Urique,  Uruachi,  Valle,  Zapori. 

Durango :  Arzati,  Avino,  Bajada,  Basis,  Canelas,  Con- 
eto,  Comercio,  Cuencame,  Durangal,  Duraznito,  El  Oro, 
Fresnos,  Gavilanes,  Guanacevi,  Huahuapan,  Inde,  Mapi- 
mi,  Metatitos,  Mezquital,  Parrilla,  Penon  Blanco,  Picoe- 
terco,  Pueblo  Nuevo,  Rodeo,  San  Dimas,  San  Juan  de 
Guadalupe,  San  Lucas,  Santiago,  Sianori,  Tamazula, 
Tejame,  Topia,  Ventanas. 

GuanajiLato :  El  Nayal,  El  Nopal,  Gilmonene,  Jesus 
Maria,  La  Joya,  Mejiamora,  Monte  de  San  Nicolas, 
Rayas,  San  Pedro,  Santa  Lucia,  Sirena,  Socavon  de  San 
Cayetano,  Valenciana. 

Mexico :  Chalchitepec,  El  Oro,  Ixtlahuacan,  Sultepec, 
Temascaltepec,  Villa  del  Yalle,  Zacoali)an. 

Queretaro :  El  Doctor. 

San  Louis  Potosi :  Bermalejo,  Catorce,  Charcas,  Gua- 
dalcazar,  Matehuale,  San  Pedro. 

Zacatecas:  Bolanos,  Carcamo,  Cedros,  Chalchihuites, 
Fresnillo,  Mazapil,  Norio,  Nieves,  Sombrerete,  San  Juan 
de  Guadalupe,  Sierra  Hermosa,  Pinos,  Rio  Grande,  Teul, 
Pico  de  Freire,  Zacatecas. 

The  mineral  districts  given  above  are  those  from  which 
was  obtained  the  silver  coined  in  the  mints  of  the  Re- 
public. 


The  Mexican  Central  Railway.  77 


SULPHURET   OF   SILVER 

is  found  in  Guanajuato,  Pachuca,  Zacatecas,  and  in  Za- 
culapan,  State  of  Mexico.  Ruby  silver  in  Moielos,  State 
of  Chihuahua.  Black  silver  in  Chihuahua,  Guanajuato, 
and  Zacatecas.  Argentiferous  galenite  in  the  greater 
part  of  the  mines  of  the  Republic. 

From  the  days  of  the  ancient  Aztecs  down  to  the  pres- 
ent time,  gold  has  been  found  in  nearly  every  part  of 
Mexico.  It  is  found,  both  pure  and  mixed  with  silver 
ore,  and  there  is  scarcely  a  single  silver  mine  which  does 
not  contain  gold.  Native  gold  is  frequently  found  crys- 
tallized in  the  silver  ores  of  Vilhilpando  and  Rayas, 
near  Guanaj  uato ;  Guarisomay,  west  of  Durango ;  and 
Mezquitl,  in  Guadalajara. 

Copper,  lead,  and  su]i)hur  exist  in  large  quantities 
along  the  line  of  the  Mexican  Central  Railway,  and 
there  are  many  indications  of  coal,  though  no  good 
workable  bed  has  yet  been  discovered. 


AGRICULTURAL  PRODUCTS. 

The  mineral  wealth  of  the  Republic  is  so  enormous, 
and  tlie  pursuit  of  the  precious  metals  is  so  alhiriiig, 
that  the  agricultural  resources  of  Mexico  are  at  present 
less  famcms.  Time  will  change  this,  as  in  the  case  of 
California.  Rich  alluvial  soils,  natural  fertilizers,  nutri- 
tious grasses,  abound;  millions  of  acres  yet  untouclu'd 
Probably  there  is  no  country  in  the  world,  the  natural 
configuration  of  which  is  so  advantageous  for  agriculture 
as  Mexico.  It  may  be  reasonably  estimated  tliat  one- 
half  of  the  plateau  upon  which  the  Mexican  Central  is 
built  is  valley  or  farming  land.  Where  it  is  so,  it  is 
very  productive.  Every  tree,  fruit,  or  plant  of  F.urope 
or  North   America   will   grow   there.     All  domestic,  or 


78  />/  Paso,    Texas. 

oilier  ;iniiM:ils,  ulictlier  imported  or  native,  have  thriven 
and  inultii)lied.  Into  the  d(!pressions  and  valleys  the 
trojtical  products  intrude  themselves,  as  oranges,  ban- 
anas, limes,  cotton,  and  cane.  In  the  diversity  of  its 
products,  its  wide  extent,  its  extraordinary  climate,  its 
freedom  from  diseases  and  climatic  extiemes,  there  is  no 
parallel,  in  any  other  region  of  the  earth,  to  the  great 
plateau  of  Mexico. 

If  only  one-fourteenth  part  of  the  territory  of  the 
Republic  were  used  for  the  raising  of  wheat  and  corn, 
the  annual  yield  would  be  about  110,000,000  bushels  of 
wheat  and  400,000,000  bushels  of  corn  every  year ;  and 
this  immense  yield  would  all  be  available  for  foreign 
markets,  as  the  outlaying  lands  have  always  raised 
enough  for  home  consumption.  Besides,  the  Mexicans 
are  from  choice  a  corn-eating  people.  Seven  eighths  of 
the  population  live  on  tortillas. 

Nevertheless,  the  tillage  is  all  done  with  tools  as  an- 
cient as  Abraham  —  wooden  sticks,  the  crotches  of  trees 
shod  with  iron.  Yet,  an  investigation  of  yield  and  qual- 
ity make  one  wonder. 

THE   MAGUEY. 

Beside  these  staple  crops,  a  glance  at  some  of  the  un- 
common products  of  Mexico  may  not  be  uninteresting. 
Nobody  can  have  much  of  an  opinion  of  the  cactus 
family  as  a  thing  of  beauty  or  as  a  source  of  wealth. 
In  some  parts  of  Mexico,  the  cacti  assume  gigantic 
proportions  and  grotesque  forms.  One  member  of  the 
family  is  essential  in  daily  life.  The  agave,  aloe,  ma- 
guey, or  century  plant,  exists  in  some  thirty  varieties 
and  has  more  products  than  any  other  vegetable.  It 
produces  in  enormous  quantities  pulque^  the  national 
beverage.  250,000  pints  of  this  are  consumed  daily  in 
the  city  of  Mexico  alone.     Each  plant  jn-oduces  about 


Th.e  Mexican  Central  Railway.  79 

125  quarts  of  this  juice,  after  wliich  it  dies.  In  otlier 
localities  no  juice  or  pulque  is  drawn  from  the  plant, 
because  its  special  virtues  enable  it  to  produce  the 
brandy  known  as  "  Tequilla,"'  from  the  locality  on  the 
Pacific  Branch  of  the  Mexican  Central,  where  the  best 
is  produced.  The  mode  of  making  this  is  as  old  as  the 
Aztec  civilization. 

After  the  pulque  has  been  extracted,  tlie  plant  still 
posesses  its  greatest  value.  It  can  be  made  to  yield  an 
excellent  quality  of  molasses  superior  to  that  yielded  by 
the  sugar  cane.  Still,  the  most  valuable  product  is  the 
fiber  yielded  by  the  leaves,  equal  to  the  best  Yucatan 
jute.  Where  soil  and  locality  do  not  admit  of  this  use 
of  the  plant,  it  yet  yields  a  pulp  unequaled  for  making 
paper. 

AYith  only  the  maguey  plant  as  a  resource,  Mexico 
might  become  one  of  the  gratest  cording,  matting,  and 
paper-making  countries  in  the  world. 

THE    KAMIE    PLAIS'T. 

India  is  the  original  home  of  this  plant,  to  which  the 
climate  and  soil  of  Mexico  are  especially  favorable, 
though  it  will  grow  wherever  cotton  will.  Once  planted, 
it  is  perennial  for  many  years,  and  requires  little  culti- 
vation or  attention.  It  is  not  subject  to  destruction  by 
worms  and  insects,  and  is  cut  four  times  a  year.  The 
fiber  is  stronger  and  finer  than  fiax  or  cotton,  and  is  con- 
sidered for  most  purposes  equal  to  silk.  Each  cutting- 
yields  as  many  pounds  per  acre  as  cotton  does. 

The  India  ramie,  bleached,  combed,  and  nuide  ready 
for  the  spinners,  brings  in  England  about  50  cents  jier 
pound.  This  ]>roduct  must  bear  a  prominent  part  in  the 
commercial  future  of  Mexico. 


HO  Ei  I'a.sn,   Texas. 

TIIK   OASTOK    up: AN 

grows  spontaneously  and  abundantly  along  the  coast 
regions,  though  these  are  not  the  most  favorable  lorali- 
ties  for  its  profitable  cultivation.  Every  State  of  the 
Republic  has  land  of  the  kind — an  imitation  of  the  tem- 
perate zone  —  in  which  it  best  thrives.  The  plant  in 
Mexico  yields  the  first  year,  and  for  about  six  UK^nths  of 
the  year,  and  the  same  plant  lives  and  bears  for  about 
ten  years,  when  it  requires  replanting.  An  acre  of  trees 
yields  about  3, GOO  pounds  of  beans,  or  1,800  pounds  of 
oil. 

TOBACCO. 

It  is  not  generally  known  that  Mexico  has  been  for 
many  years  a  producer  of  tobacco  of  flavor  which  com- 
pares favorably  with  the  best  Havana.  It  must  soon 
become  an  article  of  considerable  value  as  an  export,  as, 
under  the  present  condition  of  things,  tobacco  is  pro- 
duced in  twenty-two  of  the  twenty-eight  States,  and  pro- 
duces, as  an  export,  more  than  $2,000,000  annually. 

SUGAR. 

The  plant,  once  made,  stands  from  ten  to  thirty  years. 
It  is  under  inefficient  cultivation,  but  yields  one-third  to 
one-half  more  per  acre  than  the  island  of  Cuba.  Nearly 
all  the  Mexican  States  produce  it  in  greater  or  less  quan- 
tity, and  yet  the  present  supply  is  inadequate  to  the 
enormous  local  consumption,  and  sugar  brings  a  higher 
price  than  in  the  United  States. 

COFFEE. 

In  some  localities  the  coffee  plant  demonstrates  its 
adaptability  to  the  climate  by  growing  wild.     Its  best 


The  Mexican  Central  Railway.  81 

locality  is  about  3,500  feet  above  the  sea,  which  indicates 
a  wide  range  of  territory.  At  that  elevation  it  yields 
about  three  pounds  to  the  plant. 

Mr.  Foster,  late  Minister  to  Mexico,  stated  in  one  of  his 
reports  that  its  quality  was  equal  to  the  best  known  in 
any  country,  and  that  Mexico  possessed  in  her  coffee  a 
far  greater  wealth  than  in  her  silver. 

It  is  reliably  stated  that  there  are  coffee  plantations  in 
Mexico  that  have  annually  borne  for  three-quarters  of  a 
century,  without  replanting. 

In  1882  the  amount  paid  by  us  for  coffee  was  a  little 
more  than  $46,000,000,  of  which  nearly  830,000,000  went 
to  Brazil. 

COTTON. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  ancient  of  the  products  of 
Mexico,  and  was  raised,  spun,  woven,  and  dyed  in  bril- 
liant colors  by  the  Aztecs.  Like  all  other  products  ol 
this  favored  clime,  the  production  bears  no  relation  to 
the  capacity  of  the  country. 

The  Mexican  Central  traverses  the  Laguna  countiy, 
one  of  the  finest  in  the  world  for  the  growth  of  cotton. 
It  now  produces  a  large  crop,  and  new  areas  are  being- 
planted  every  year. 

The  average  yield  per  acre  is  about  15  per  cent,  more 
than  in  the  United  States.  The  cotton  consumption  is 
so  prominent  a  factor  in  the  calculations  of  the  world's 
trade  that  it  is  useless  to  present  again  here  familiar 


figures. 


TROPICAL   FRUITS. 


These  grow  here  in  immense  profusion   and  variety. 
Oranges,  limes,  and  bananas  are  standard  articles  of 
consumption  and  trade,  and  the  construction  of  railways 
6 


82  Bl  Paso,  Texas. 

renders  their  limitless  sup])ly  from  Mexico  an  important 
item.  Several  kinds  of  lefrigeratin^i;  cars  are  an  un- 
doubted success.  The  fruit  trade  fiom  California  (the 
same  distance)  in  varieties  which  are  mostly  produced  in 
all  the  States,  is  enormous.  There  is,  in  the  near  future, 
an  immense  development  in  the  tropical  fruit  business  of 
Mexico ;  fresher,  cheaper,  of  greater  variety  and  better 
quality,  than  we  have  ever  been  accustomed  to.  In  the 
West  Indies  there  is  nearly  a  level  surface  of  land.  The 
crop  per  annum  is  a  single  one.  In  Mexico,  one  district 
has  ripening  fruit  at  one  season  of  the  year,  and  another 
district  later  or  earlier.  Around  the  city  of  M«'xico,  in 
addition  to  a  list  of  tropical  fruits  whose  names,  variety, 
and  deliciousness  are  a  revelation  to  the  stranger,  straw- 
berries, new  potatoes,  and  green  corn  may  be  had  every 
month  of  the  year. 

Of  the  dye-woods,  medicinal  products,  hard  and  cab- 
inet woods,  cochineal,  etc.,  produced  naturally  in  South- 
ern Mexico,  it  is  useless  to  speak  here.  The  terrible 
isolation  of  the  country  is  finally  broken.  Already  the 
country  is  awakening  to  a  sense  of  the  value  and  im- 
portance of  products  almost  useless  heretofore.  Some 
time  the  agricultural  wealth  of  Mexico,  like  that  of  Cal- 
ifornia, will  be  found  to  far  eclipse  its  riches  in  silver 
and  gold. 

The  millions  of  acres  of  nutritious  grasses,  embracing 
a  large  part  of  Northern  Mexico,  part  of  the  State  of 
Chihuahua,  and  the  Bolson  de  Mapimi,  and  extending 
northeast  to  the  Rio  Grande,  are  attracting  the  attention 
of  American  cattle-raisers,  and  already  steps  are  being 
taken  for  the  utilization  of  this  vast  grazing  ground. 


The  Mexican  Central  Railway.  83 

AS   A  RESORT  FOR  TOURISTS 

AND   HEALTH-SEEKERS, 

Mexico  offers  great  inducement.  The  tourist  contem- 
plating a  European  trip  will  do  well  to  fii'st  note  wliat 
Mexico  offers. 

Its  beautiful  cities,  balmy  climate,  old  cliurches  and 
cathedrals,  the  peculiar  and  picturesque  costumes  of  its 
Xjeople,  its  baths  and  healthful  waters,  all  combine  to 
make  it  most  attractive  to  the  tourist — more  interesting 
than  Spain  or  Palestine,  Egypt  or  Switzerland. 

As  in  Europe  all  roads  lead  to  Rome,  so  in  America 
all  roads  lead  to  El  Paso,  Texas,  the  gateway  to  Mexico. 

RAILWAY  RATES,   Etc. 

Full  information  regarding  rates  of  fare,  dates  of  ex- 
cursions, and  facts  of  every  nature  regarding  this  won- 
derful land,  may  be  obtained  upon  application  to 

G.  W.  KEELER, 

General  Eastern  Agent,  261  Broadway,  N.  Y. 

A.  C.  MICHAELIS, 

A.  G.  P.  A.,  Mexico,  Mex. 

M.  II.  KING, 

A.  G.  P.  A.,  El  Paso,  Texas. 

H.  C.  BARLOW, 

Traffic  }fanager,  Chicago,  Ills. 

E.  W.  JACKSON, 

General  Manager,  Mexico,  Mex. 


Addenda. 


El  Paso,  Texas,  Jan.  4,  1886. 

Since  writing  the  foregoing  pages,  the  White  Oaks 
Railroad  project  has  so  far  matured  that  a  corps  of 
locating  engineers  will  be  put  in  the  field  within  the 
next  ten  days,  and  the  actual  work  of  construction  will 
follow  within  a  month.  It  is  the  design  of  the  great 
corporation  who  have  undertaken  this  project,  to  push 
the  work  of  construction  as  speedily  as  possible  to  a 
connection  with  the  great  Rock  Island  system,  thus  giv- 
ing us  another  and  an  excellent  route  to  St.  Louis,  Chi- 
cago, and  all  points  north  and  east.  This  assures  the 
future  of  El  Paso  and  El  Paso  County,  beyond  all 
doubt  or  cavil.  The  hand- writing  is  on  the  wall;  he 
who  runs  may  now  read.  Pages  might  be  filled  with 
the  attempt  to  enumerate  all  the  advantages  and  ben- 
efits which  we  must  derive  from  the  completion  of  this 
great  project,  and  we  will  only  endeavor  to  mention  a  few 
of  them,  believing  that  the  intelligent  reader  will  under- 
stand how  happily  these  things  must  affect  us.  It  as- 
sures abundant  and  cheap  coal  for  manufacturing  and 
all  purposes ;  cheap  lumber,  greatly  increased  railroad 
facilities  and  competitive  transportation,  and  the  devel- 
opment of  a  vast  and  rich  country  which,  for  hundreds 
of  miles,  must  be  tributary  to  El  Paso.  From  these  the 
sagacious  men  and  the  intelligent  readers  of  all  classes 
can  read  between  the  lines  the  innumerable  benefits  that 
must  follow,  and  we  will  not  now  attempt  to  specify  them. 

We  will  also  mention  the  fact  that  an  enterprising 
colony  of  Californians  have  recently  purchased  a  large 
tract  of  land  in  the  valley  about  twenty-five  miles  below 
here,  intending  to  commence  the  cultivation  and  canning 
of  fruit  on  a  large  scale.  This  enterprise  will  no  doubt 
be  successful,  as  it  is  under  the  auspices  of  men  of 
experience  and  ability. 

The  project  for  the  construction  of  the  great  irrigating 
canal  is  also  assuming  shape,  but  the  completion  of  the 
White  Oaks  Railroad  Avill  soon  make  this  a  necessity ; 
the  lands  will  be  in  demand,  and  the  water  must  follow. 
In  our  next  edition  we  hope  to  record  favorable  progress 
on  these  great  projects.  "TNIVEBSmr  OF  CALIi  ORN? 
(84)  ^^ 

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